RFP Amendment #1

Transcription

1 STATE OF ALASKA Department of Revenue Treasury Division 333 Willoughby Avenue, State Office Building, 11 th Floor PO Box Juneau, AK RFP Amendment #1 Title of RFP: Merchant Card Processing Services This amendment is for informational purposes only and need not be returned to the State. Jesse Blackwell Procurement Officer Department of Revenue Phone:

2 Questions have been received in response to the above specified RFP. Those questions, together with the State s answers, are listed below. Please incorporate this information into your responses, as applicable. 1. How would the State like absorbed pricing defined? Either Pass thru and A per item ($0.XX) A percentage (%) Or a hybrid of percentage (% + $0.XX) This question refers to SEC Service Fee Options and Attachment 5 Cost Proposal Form. The State would like absorbed pricing, or service fee pricing, defined as a percentage. The percentage will be the percentage of the transaction being processed, that is charged to the State s customer. 2. Aloha is being used on the ferries is that for food service purchase or other items? This question refers to SEC Alaska Marine Highway System State Ferries. NCR s Aloha point of sale system is being used for food service purchase and any other retail items on board the ships such as sundries and toiletries. 3. The RFP describes a store and forward scenario for the ferries where transaction data is captured when satellite network access is unavailable, and transactions are completed once access is restored. Are the devices used in that scenario standalone devices or are they integrated into the Aloha system? This question refers to SEC Alaska Marine Highway System State Ferries. The devices used in the scenario described above are using a mag stripe reader connected to a standalone Windows computer with NCR s Aloha point of sale system loaded. 4. In the areas where Converge is embedded into a web environment today, did the State manage that programming? Are there resources to program a different gateway into those environments? This question refers to SEC Online Ecommerce Transaction Processing. In the areas where Converge is embedded into a web environment today the State managed the programming required to get Converge set up and the State would also manage the programming to integrate to a different gateway. 5. Is the State using CreditCall s solution in 100% of the kiosks, or is the Elavon kiosk solution in place anywhere? Do the kiosks only take card or cash too? This question refers to SEC Third Party Processors and SEC Alaska Marine Highway System State Ferries. CreditCall s solution has not gone live on any of the State s merchant locations. The State is currently in the process of implementing CreditCall s solution on some merchant locations for the Alaska Marine Highway System. A specific go live date is not currently scheduled or known. These kiosks for the Alaska Marine Highway System will take cards only and no cash. The State only has two merchant locations that are currently processing live transactions on unattended kiosks. One is a parking garage and the other is an outdoor state park. The parking garage kiosk

3 is using Datacap System s NETePay software and accepts both card payments and cash. The outdoor state park kiosk is using Authorize.Net software and only accepts card payments; no cash. 6. For the kiosks using CreditCall, is the CardEase gateway being used? Are the devices EMV or swipe? This question refers to SEC Third Party Processors and SEC Alaska Marine Highway System State Ferries. The kiosks that are going to be using CreditCall are going to be using the CardEase gateway. These devices are EMV compatible. 7. Is the State using any Clover solutions, such as where CDMA and GSM connectivity are required? If not, what devices are used in those locations today? This question refers to SEC Merchant Card Processing and SEC Equipment Terminals and Software. The State is not currently using any Clover solutions. In locations where terminals are using CDMA and GSM (cellular) connectivity the State is currently using either Ingenico iwl250g or VeriFone VX680G terminals. 8. Section 3.11 describes a scenario where one terminal could be used by multiple staff members, and it s required that the State be able to generate reporting by individual staff member. Can you expand on this requirement what is driving the need for this individualized reporting? This question refers to SEC Division of Motor Vehicles. At all DMV merchant locations that are processing card present transactions, DMV is utilizing internet browser based virtual terminals on standard PCs. DMV has one merchant ID and one virtual terminal ID for each DMV office; with multiple workstations and multiple Customer Service Reps (CSR) working in each office. As a business practice and internal control, each day the CSR s have to balance their receipts individually by payment type which means DMV needs the ability to get a report showing the credit card payments taken by each CSR individually. 9. Does the State have any need for online bill presentment? The State does not currently have any specifically identified needs for online bill presentment. 10. Are there any specific pain points the State is looking to address in releasing this RFP? The State does not have any specific pain points it is looking to address in releasing this RFP. This RFP has been issued as part of our normal procurement cycle. All specific needs have been discussed in the RFP. 11. Are there any feature or functionality gaps that the State is experiencing today? Please see the answer to question #10 above. 12. Sec 6.02 states that Prior to the award of a contract, an offeror must hold a valid Alaska business license. However, the Alaska Business License copy or evidence it

4 has been purchased is listed as a requirement in the table on page 93. Is the license or evidence it has been purchased required with the proposal submittal, or only prior to the award of a contract? This question refers to SEC Alaska Business License and Other Required Licenses and Attachment 7 Proposal Checklist. If an offeror qualifies for and is claiming the Alaska Bidder Preference in their proposal, then the offeror must hold a valid Alaska business license and provide a copy of the license (or proof that is has been purchased) with their proposal prior to the deadline for receipt of proposals. If the offeror does not qualify for and is not claiming the Alaska Bidder Preference in their proposal then the Alaska business license would just need to be obtained prior to the award of the contract. The item, Alaska Business License or evidence is has been purchased, in Attachment 7 on page 93 would only apply to those offerors that are claiming the Alaska Bidder Preference. Please be sure to thoroughly review all of the requirements in SEC Alaska Bidder Preference to determine if you qualify for the Alaska Bidder Preference. 13. Does Carus CarRes offer an open API? This question refers to SEC Alaska Marine Highway System State Ferries. Carus does not have an open API into their CarRes application. 14. What is the planned go live date? Section 3.39 of the RFP lists August 1, 2020 and Section 3.38 lists October 11, This question refers to SEC Implementation and SEC Contract Term and Work Schedule. The State would begin the implementation process as soon as feasible after a new contract was signed. These dates are dependent on many factors but according to our current tentative schedule, implementation would begin on February 1, The State has conservatively allowed 18 months to fully convert all merchant card processing in all environments from the current vendor to a new vendor. Considering this, conversion completion is scheduled for August 1, October 11, 2020 is the absolute deadline that the State must be fully converted by; but can and would prefer to be fully converted prior to this date. 15. Does a vendor need to have an Alaska State Business License to be considered responsive when submitting an RFP, or could the selected vendor obtain one after the State has selected them? Please see the answer to question #12 above. 16. Should any comments/exceptions to the Standard Contract be submitted as part of our proposal or is it required to submit those in advance? This question refers to SEC Standard Contract Provisions and Attachment 2 Standard Contract Form Appendix A. Objections/exceptions to any provisions of the State s Standard Contract Form (provided as Attachment 2 to the RFP) must be set out in the offeror s proposal and are not required to be submitted in advance of the deadline for the receipt of proposals.

5 17. It is stated in the RFP that the Department of Revenue, Division of Treasury, estimates a maximum budget of $40,000,000 for completion of this project. What does this number include? Interchange over the contract period, cost of implementation including POS equipment, maintenance costs, or other costs? This question refers to SEC Budget. The maximum budget for this contract of $40,000,000 includes interchange over the contract period, cost of implementation including POS equipment, maintenance costs, and any other unforeseen or unanticipated costs or extensions of the contract. Keep in mind that this is an absolute maximum budget and the actual amount spent by the State under this contract could be much less depending on many factors. This maximum budget is not an agreement or commitment by the State to spend this full amount under this contract. 18. In the pre bid meeting the State said it would try to provide more detail regarding which departments are considering moving to convenience fees. Does the State have any more information to provide regarding this? Please see the column labeled Service Fee? on the Revised & Expanded Attachment What is the number of physical cashiering stations? This will help us determine the number of POS devices needed. Please see the Revised & Expanded Attachment 6. Merchants listed with an Acceptance Type of CC Terminal would need to replace their existing POS devices. As indicated on the Revised & Expanded Attachment 6, the total number of POS devices that would be needed would be approximately 106. This is just an estimate for informational purposes only and is not to be considered a guarantee of the number of POS devices that the State would need to purchase. 20. What is the make and model of the point of sale devices used in the DMV offices? How many devices are there? Do they support P2PE, chip (EMV), and contactless payments? This question refers to SEC Division of Motor Vehicles and SEC Equipment Terminals and Software. At all DMV merchant locations that are processing card present transactions, DMV is utilizing internet browser based virtual terminals on standard PCs. DMV is also using card readers attached to the PCs via USB. The card readers are Mag Tek USB Mini Wedge magstripe readers and DMV currently has approximately 95 of these devices deployed. The devices do not support P2PE, chip (EMV), or contactless payments. Solutions that do support P2PE, chip (EMV), or contactless payments may be of interest to DMV in the future. 21. What is the system of record and cashiering solution used in the OMV offices? (i.e. the system that is used to cashier the OMV transactions in the office) This question refers to SEC Division of Motor Vehicles. It is assumed that OMV in this question is referring to the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV). DMV s transactions are processed in a stand alone program called ALVIN (Alaska License & Vehicle Information Network) that was built in house by State programmers. Once the total is

6 known and the customer chooses to pay with a credit card, the customer service rep goes to the separate third party application (Converge virtual terminal) to run the credit card and collect payment. There is no direct communication between ALVIN and the Converge virtual terminal. 22. Is the State interested in IVR solutions being provided under this contract? Do any departments currently use IVR? The State does not currently use Interactive Voice Response (IVR) on any of its merchant locations and has not identified any current needs for IVR on any of its merchant locations. 23. Please confirm whether Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) Letter of Credit (LC) is an eligible form of collateral for deposits per QPD requirements. Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) Letter of Credit is an acceptable form of collateral on State deposits. 24. Please provide estimated annual ACH transactions and average ticket. The State processes a very low volume of ACH debit transactions under the current Merchant Card Processing Contract. Over the past 12 months the State processed 44 ACH debit transactions for a total of $31,706 for an average ticket of $ The State is interested in finding ways to increase this volume. 25. Please clarify if you would like to receive the Cost Proposal Form in Excel, Word, or PDF format. The State would prefer to receive the Cost Proposal Form back from bidders in Excel format. 26. On Attachment 6, if possible, please add columns to include (1) card swipe, keyed, Web based transactions and (2) convenience fee or no convenience fee. Card swipe vs. keyed vs. web based transaction volume information is not currently available. If this information becomes available it will be provided in a subsequent amendment to this RFP. Please see the column labeled Service Fee? on the Revised & Expanded Attachment 6 for information about convenience (service) fee or no convenience (service) fee. 27. On Attachment 6, please define more specifically within Acceptance Type, the make, model, and version of each terminal, gateway, and point of sale being utilized. Please see the Revised & Expanded Attachment On Attachment 6, for each departmental application listed, please indicate whether the target/desired funding model is (1) state paid, (2) payer paid via a service/convenience fee, or (3) undecided.

7 Please see the column labeled Service Fee? on the Revised & Expanded Attachment On Attachment 6, for each departmental application listed, please indicate the average payment amount and/or the number of transactions per year. (As sales is already provided, we can calculate the number of transactions if we have the average payment amount, or vice versa). Please see column labeled Total Avg. Ticket on the Revised & Expanded Attachment On Attachment 6, for each departmental application listed as CC Terminal, please indicate the estimated number of credit card terminal devices required. Please see the Revised & Expanded Attachment 6 and the answer to question #19 above. 31. On Attachment 6, for each departmental application that supports ACH, please indicate the number of transactions via this payment method. Please see the answer to question #24 above. 32. On Attachment 6, for each department, please list the annual number of transactions and/or average transaction dollar amount in addition to the total processing dollar volume. Please see column labeled Total Avg. Ticket on the Revised & Expanded Attachment On Attachment 5, please define what is meant by Level III Interchange Data Enrichment Share Percentage. This question refers to Attachment 5 Cost Proposal Form. If the offeror has any products or programs that would assist the State in capturing and/or submitting Level 3 Interchange data to qualify for lower interchange rates when processing transactions, they must include any costs associated with these products or programs in the Cost Proposal Form. 34. On Attachment 5, please define what is currently being provided under the Interchange Optimization Solutions Monthly Fee. This question refers to Attachment 5 Cost Proposal Form. If the offeror has any products or programs that specifically assist the State in reducing its overall interchange cost, they must include any costs associated with these products or programs in the Cost Proposal Form. An example of an Interchange Optimization Solution may be a program that helps the State identify and remediate curable downgrades. 35. On Attachment 5, please define what is currently being provided under the Point of Sale System Monthly Subscription. This question refers to Attachment 5 Cost Proposal Form. An example of a third party point of sale system that the State currently pays a monthly fee to use is the Talech mobile point of sale system. This has been purchased through the State s current

8 merchant card processing provider. 36. Are you considering expanding your service fee model? Please see the answer to question #18 above. 37. Are you considering a service fee model for your Marine Highway System through online reservations or the call center? This question refers to SEC Alaska Marine Highway System State Ferries and SEC Service Fee Options. The Alaska Marine Highway System is not interested in implementing a service fee model on any of their merchant locations at this time. 38. Are you considering a service fee model for your DMV? The State of Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles is interested in implementing a service fee model on all of their merchant locations but has not made any final decision. This should not be considered a commitment by the DMV to implement a service fee model. 39. What is your PIN based debit transaction volume? The State currently processes a very low volume of PIN Debit transactions. In calendar year 2017 the State processed 110 PIN debit transactions for a total of $4, for an average ticket of $ The State is interested in finding ways to increase PIN debit transaction volume. 40. On page 23, section 3.22 you refer to additional points for transmitting faster than 2 business days, how many additional points will be given? This question refers to SEC Funding and SEC (s) Evaluation Criteria for Funding. If an offeror can transmit the gross amount of sales to any bank specified by the State faster than 2 business they will be awarded 2.5 points for this criteria. If they cannot transmit the gross amount of sales to any bank specified by the State faster than 2 business days they will be awarded no points for this criteria. 41. Have you previously implemented a P2PE solution? If so, who provided this service? The State has not previously implemented a P2PE solution. 42. How much American Express dollar volume does the State process? This question refers to SEC Card Acceptance. The State just recently started accepting American Express again near the end of July, The State did not accept American Express from September 30, 2013 through July, In the month of August, 2018 the State processed 475 American Express transactions for a total of $95, and an average ticket of $ Based on historical data from before 2013, the State expects it could process approximately $3,500,000 in American Express dollar volume per year in the future.

9 43. Does the current processor provide American Express acceptance under the OptBlue program? The State s current processor provides American Express acceptance under a program that is similar to the OptBlue program. 44. Aside from Carus CarRes, and understanding that Converge is a proprietary gateway to the current processor, what other systems (ERP, CRM, Biller, etc.) will the State of Alaska look to integrate into the payment process? Other than those that were already discussed in the RFP, the State will not look to integrate any other systems into the payment process. Specifically, the State will not integrate into the payment process any Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), or Biller systems.