Single Party Framework Agreement for the supply of Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) Services

AI-generated analysis of the documents. Check the official notice and any amendments for current submission details.

1. At a glance

2. Scope of Work

The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) seeks to establish a Single Party Framework Agreement for the supply of Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) Payment Services. The estimated maximum spend under this framework agreement is €300,000 excluding VAT over the initial two-year term, with potential extensions.

The core services required include:

• EFT Payment Processing: Support for SEPA Credit Transfer, SEPA Instant, SEPA Direct Debit, and SWIFT/cross-border payments.
• Invoice Generation and Payment Initiation: Functionality to generate invoices and create pay-by-link options for customers.
• Open Banking Integration: Capability for account-to-account payment initiation via open banking.
• Salesforce CRM Integration: Seamless integration with the GRAI's Salesforce system, which serves as the system of record for invoicing. This includes:
• Generating payment requests and pay-by-links from within Salesforce.
• Associating these with corresponding invoice records.
• Automatically writing payment status back to Salesforce.
• Ensuring end-to-end traceability from Salesforce invoice records through payment initiation and bank settlement, back to Salesforce, without manual intervention.
• Reflecting refund status against originating client records.
• Reconciliation and Reporting: Mechanisms for unique attribution of inbound funds to individual clients and invoices, client-by-client and aggregate system-to-bank reconciliation, automated exception handling for unmatched, duplicate, partial, or overpaid transactions, and API access for reporting/reconciliation data, including end-of-day availability.
• Optional Card Acquiring: Capability for card acquiring services that can be activated at the GRAI's option at a later stage.
• Implementation and Onboarding: A comprehensive approach covering integration build, environment provision, data migration (if applicable), testing, staff training, and a defined timeline with milestones for go-live.
• Service Management and Support: Defined support channels and hours, availability/uptime commitments and Service Level Agreements (SLAs), incident management and escalation processes, dedicated account management, and business continuity planning.
• Environmental Sustainability: Demonstration of commitment to green public procurement principles in service delivery.

The framework agreement is intended to have an initial term of two years, with the possibility of one or two extensions, each up to twelve months.

3. Background & buyer context

The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) is procuring these EFT Payment Services through an open competitive procedure under the European Union (Award of Public Authority Contracts) Regulations 2016. This procurement aims to establish a Single Party Framework Agreement to streamline payment processing and enhance financial management capabilities. The GRAI's policy encourages participation by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and encourages larger enterprises to consider how SMEs can be included in their proposals to maximise social and economic benefits. The estimated maximum spend of €300,000 excluding VAT over the initial two-year term indicates a requirement for efficient and cost-effective payment solutions.

4. Eligibility & selection criteria

Bidders must meet the following minimum requirements to be considered:

• Turnover requirement:
• Minimum average annual turnover of €500,000 for each of the past three financial years.
• If the date of establishment was more recent, the minimum turnover must be achieved for each year of trading.
• For consortia/groups, this condition can be satisfied by the group members collectively.
• Insurance:
• Employer’s Liability: €12.7 million limit per claim.
• Public Liability: €6.5 million limit per claim.
• Product Liability: Not specified (n/a).
• Professional Indemnity: €2.5 million limit per insurance year in aggregate.
• Cyber Insurance: €2 million limit per insurance year in aggregate.
• Certifications: Not specified for this tender.
• Past experience:
• Provide details of three previous contract examples demonstrating successful delivery of services of a similar nature, scale, and complexity within the last three years.
• At least one example must demonstrate experience delivering electronic payment/EFT collection and reconciliation services integrated with a client CRM (Salesforce) system.
• Contract examples must have commenced and/or ended within the last five years from the tender deadline.
• Personnel:
• Self-certify sufficient numbers of personnel working in relevant areas for contract delivery.
• Geographic / facility constraints: Not specified for this tender.

Bidders must complete the electronic European Single Procurement Document (eESPD) and demonstrate satisfaction of these criteria. Failure to meet any of these requirements will result in exclusion.

5. Award criteria & scoring

The contract will be awarded to the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) based on the following criteria and weightings:

Qualitative criteria (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7) are scored from 0-100 against defined bands (Exceptional to Unacceptable), with a minimum threshold of 50% required for each. The cost score is calculated using a formula based on the lowest evaluated total cost.

6. Submission requirements

Bidders must submit the following:

• eESPD: Completed electronically via www.etenders.gov.ie.
• Tenderer’s Statement: Signed and printed on headed notepaper, submitted as a scanned copy.
• Declaration as to Personal Circumstances of Tenderer: Signed and witnessed by a practising solicitor/commissioner for oaths.
• Previous Contract Experience Template: Completed for three previous contract examples, detailing involvement, similarity to GRAI requirements, and reference details.
• Pricing Schedule: Completed workbook (Appendix 2) with all amber input cells filled in Schedules A to D.
• Response Documents:
• Salesforce Integration, Traceability & Reconciliation: Max 8 A4 pages.
• Payment Functionality, Refunds & Service Management: Max 6 A4 pages.
• Reconciliation and reporting: Max 5 A4 pages.
• Implementation and onboarding: Max 3 A4 pages.
• Service management and support: Max 3 A4 pages.
• Green Public Procurement: Max 2 A4 pages.
• Contact Details: Name, title, telephone, postal address, and email of the nominated contact person.
• SME Declaration: Indicate if the tenderer is an SME.

All submissions must be made via the eTenders portal.

7. Key dates & process

8. Contract terms that matter

• Term: Initial term of two years, with a maximum of two extensions, each up to twelve months.
• Payment Terms: Invoices are deemed accepted if no queries are raised within 14 days.
• Liquidated Damages: Not specified.
• Termination: Either party may terminate with 14 days' notice if no queries are raised within a 14-day period. Specific breach termination clauses allow for 30 days' notice if breaches are not remedied.
• IP Ownership: Not specified.
• Sub-contracting: Tenderers must declare subcontractors. If relying on a subcontractor's capacity for selection criteria, a separate eESPD is required. Subcontractors must not be prohibited economic operators.
• Parent-company Guarantee/Bond: Not specified.

9. Risks, red flags & unusuals

• Estimated Spend vs. Turnover Requirement: The estimated maximum spend of €300,000 over two years is significantly lower than the €500,000 annual turnover requirement. This suggests a potential mismatch or a need for bidders to demonstrate capacity beyond the immediate contract value, possibly indicating a desire for a stable, established provider.
• Salesforce Integration Focus: A significant weighting (25%) and minimum threshold are placed on Salesforce CRM integration. This implies that the GRAI's existing system is critical, and a bidder's ability to seamlessly integrate with it is paramount. Bidders without direct, proven Salesforce integration experience may face challenges.
• Open Procedure with Single Party Framework: While an open procedure is used, the outcome is a single-party framework agreement. This means only one supplier will be appointed, and competition will occur within the framework if multiple suppliers were appointed (which is not the case here).
• Limited Contract Value: The relatively low estimated contract value might deter larger providers who typically focus on higher-value engagements, potentially limiting the competitive pool.

10. SME fit assessment

This tender is structured as an open procedure leading to a single-party framework agreement. While SMEs are encouraged to participate and can form relationships with other enterprises, the €500,000 annual turnover requirement acts as a significant barrier for many smaller businesses. A credible bidder would likely be an established financial services provider or a technology company with a proven track record in payment processing and B2B integrations.

Consortium or subcontracting is permitted, and SMEs are encouraged to explore these options. The bid preparation effort is moderate, requiring detailed responses to specific technical and operational criteria, completion of the eESPD, and a comprehensive pricing schedule. The focus on Salesforce integration and the €500,000 turnover threshold suggest that the tender may favour incumbent or established players in the payment services sector, rather than being a completely open market for new entrants, especially smaller ones.

11. Where to dig deeper

• Source RFT Filename: TRD - Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) Payment Services.docx, CFT - Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) Payment Services.docx
• eTenders CFT ID: Not specified
• Contact Email / Clarification Portal: Via eTenders portal
• Most Important Attachments:
• Appendix 1: Requirements and Specifications
• Appendix 2: Pricing Schedule
• Tenderer’s Statement (Appendix 3)
• Declaration as to Personal Circumstances of Tenderer (Appendix 4)