Scope
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
market place, 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 Barclaycard EPDQ.
2. The supplier must assign individual merchant numbers to each outlet specified by the council, this is currently a total of 29 merchants.
oThe 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.
For more information about this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing portal at:
To respond to this opportunity, please click here:
Total value (estimated)
- £800,000 excluding VAT
- £960,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 19 January 2026 to 19 May 2027
- Possible extension to 19 May 2030
- 4 years, 4 months, 1 day
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
- UKH3 - Essex
Submission
Enquiry deadline
2 July 2025, 1:00pm
Tender submission deadline
15 July 2025, 1:00pm
Submission address and any special instructions
Tenders may be submitted electronically
Yes
Languages that may be used for submission
English
Award decision date (estimated)
10 September 2025
Award criteria
| Name | Type | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Method Statement Scores | Quality | 60% |
| Bid Back Financial Cost | Cost | 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
Documents
Associated tender documents
Merchant Services ITT V5 21st May 2025.docx
Bid back financial appendix G V4 20th May 2025.xlsx
Merchant services contract V3 21st May 2025.docx
Appendix H - Chelmsford City Council .docx
PA23 Conflicts Declaration Form - Chelmsford City Council (1).pdf
Contracting authority
Chelmsford City Council
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PYRZ-1467-WNJW
Duke Street, Chelmsford
Chelmsford
CM1 1 JE
United Kingdom
Region: UKH36 - Heart of Essex
Organisation type: Public authority - sub-central government