Scope
Reference
CCC/2026/MERCHANT
Description
Chelmsford City Council would like to issue a tender proposal to secure merchant acquirer services.
The supplier is required to provide Merchant Card Acquiring services, to facilitate the receipt, transfer and accounting of incoming domestic and foreign payment streams where current UK sanctions permit, from the payer, to Chelmsford City Council and Chelmsford City Council Payment Gateways to facilitate Cardholder present and Cardholder not present transactions.
The supplier will also need to provide chip and pin terminals where required.
OBJECTIVES
oTo secure value for money services.
oTo provide cost savings.
REQUIREMENT
1. Chelmsford City Council wish to process transactions from the following cards: MasterCard (Credit & Debit), Visa (Credit & Debit), Electron, Maestro and Solo. If any additional card issuers enter the marketplace, the Council will discuss their specific requirements in that regard as and when necessary. The Council does not accept
American Express cards or Diners Cards. The successful bidder will have to be able to operate with the following gateways: Opayo, Elavon, Worldpay and NMI. The supplier should also be able to provide a gateway service capable of integrating with Microsoft Dynamics, to ensure the supplier can support planned development with this system if required.
2. The supplier must assign individual merchant numbers to each outlet specified by the council; this is currently a total of 30 merchants. The supplier must be able to provide new merchant numbers as and when required by the council
3. as part of the contract the supplier must be able to supply terminals to the various outlets across the council, the council currently uses 19 terminals.
If a terminal is no longer required by a Council during the course of the contract, the Council must be able to return the device to the Supplier without incurring any further related charges.
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Total value (estimated)
- £800,000 excluding VAT
- £960,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 26 June 2026 to 26 June 2028
- Possible extension to 25 June 2031
- 5 years
Description of possible extension:
Chelmsford City Council propose to enter into a Contract with the winning Tenderer for a maximum period of 2 years with an option of extending for additional periods of up to 3 years, to give a maximum term of up to 5 years
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 66000000 - Financial and insurance services
- 66110000 - Banking services
- 66115000 - International payment transfer services
Contract locations
- UKH36 - Heart of Essex
Submission
Enquiry deadline
24 February 2026, 12:00pm
Tender submission deadline
9 March 2026, 12:00pm
Submission address and any special instructions
Tenders may be submitted electronically
Yes
Languages that may be used for submission
English
Award decision date (estimated)
20 March 2026
Award criteria
| Name | Type | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Method Statement Scores | Quality | 60% |
| Bid Back Financial Cost | Price | 40% |
Other information
Applicable trade agreements
- Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
- Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure
Procedure type
Open procedure
Contracting authority
Chelmsford City Council
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PYRZ-1467-WNJW
Civic Centre, Duke Street
Chelmsford
CM1 1JE
United Kingdom
Region: UKH36 - Heart of Essex
Organisation type: Public authority - sub-central government