12-RFP-26-00262 Customer Billing, Payment, and Engagement Solution.pdf

Request for Proposals Customer Billing, Payment, and Engagement Solution

RFP-26-00262

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IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE SUBMITTING PROPOSAL

SOLICITATION TYPE: Competitive Sealed Proposals

SOLICITATION NUMBER: RFP-26-00262

SOLICITATION TITLE: Customer Billing, Payment, and Engagement Solution

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (County) is seeking competitive sealed proposals from experienced and qualified Contractors to provide labor, materials, equipment, and support for an electronic payment receipt system (Solution) to process customer payments through various channels for the Water Resources Department (WRD). The Contract resulting from this request for proposal document will be in effect for a five (5)-year period.

DUE DATE & TIME: August 11, 2026, 2:00 P.M. Eastern Time (as recorded by the County’s Electronic Bidding System)

ISSUING DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR:

The Director of Procurement is considered the issuing department director for the purpose of Section 2-567(c) of the Hillsborough County Procurement Protest Policy and Procedures Ordinance.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION: The County will only accept proposals submitted through its electronic bidding system (Euna Procurement). Proposals that are submitted or delivered by non-electronic means (hard-copy paper), facsimile, electronic mail (e-mail), electronic file, or means other than through the County's electronic bidding system (Euna Procurement) will not be accepted or considered. Please visit our vendors webpage (hcfl.gov/vendors) for information regarding vendor registration, electronic bid submission, procurement opportunities, and other important resources.

TIMELINESS: To preserve the integrity of the competitive sealed proposal process, proposals submitted after the due date and time listed above, unless otherwise amended, cannot and will not be accepted. Please do not wait until the last minute, hour, or day to submit your proposal, as you may encounter technical difficulties or issues that cannot be resolved before the due date and time. When preparing to submit your proposal, please read and follow all instructions regarding formatting and other details related to the form(s) to be used. Again, please do not wait until it’s too late for assistance. We value and need your participation, so the last thing we want is for you to miss this opportunity.

QUESTIONS: ● Questions regarding technical difficulties or errors encountered while submitting proposals through Euna Procurement must be directed to

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Euna Procurement Support at 1-844-226-3862 or support.bonfire@eunasolutions.com.

● Questions regarding the specifications or solicitation document must be directed to Procurement Services using the “messages” section in Euna Procurement for this particular procurement.

● To be given consideration, such requests must be received no later than 14 calendar days after the date of Solicitation issuance in Euna Procurement, site visit, or pre-proposal conference, whichever is later.

● Questions regarding vendor registration, training, or general questions must be directed to the Supplier Engagement Team at (813) 272-5790 or iSupplier@HCFL.gov.

CONE OF SILENCE: A Cone of Silence is in effect for this procurement; therefore, no proposer, interested party and/or their principals, officers, employees, attorneys, or agents shall communicate with County employees, the Hearing Master assigned to hear the applicable protest appeal and/or members of the Board of County Commissioners, including their aides and employees regarding this procurement and/or a related protest, except as otherwise provided in the Hillsborough County Procurement Protest Policy and Procedures Ordinance. The Cone of Silence does not prohibit a proposer from communicating with the Director of Procurement, staff in the Procurement Services Department, or the County’s attorney assigned to this procurement. Violating the Cone of Silence may disqualify the proposer from consideration for award. Please refer to the Instructions for complete details about the Cone of Silence.

INSURANCE: Insurance coverage is required for this procurement. Please see RFP-26-00262 Insurance Requirements Attachment and Special Terms and Conditions.

SURETY (BONDS): Proposal, performance, and/or payment surety is not required for this procurement.

E-VERIFY: The Department of Homeland Security's Image Program and E-Verify apply to this procurement. Please see General Terms and Conditions for complete details and requirements.

DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY COMPLIANCE:

Any and all information and communications technology developed, provided, procured, maintained, or otherwise made available under this Contract and intended for public access or use, shall comply with various accessibility standards. Please see General Terms and Conditions for complete details and requirements.

INSTRUCTIONS TO PROPOSERS:

Please see Sections 1.9., 1.10., and 4. for various instructions for Proposers.

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1. SPECIFICATIONS

1.1. Scope

1.1.1 The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (County) is seeking competitive sealed proposals from experienced and qualified Contractors to provide all labor, materials, equipment, and support for an electronic payment receipt system (Solution) to process customer payments through various channels for the Water Resources Department (WRD). The Contract resulting from this request for proposal document will be in effect for a five (5)-year period.

1.1.2 Services shall include, but are not limited to, a comprehensive Solution to accept online credit card payments, e-Checks, mobile, text, digital wallet, and retail payments, bill print, mail services, and bill redesign to afford the County an opportunity to generate revenue, a customer portal to enable customers with self-service, Live Chat, Chatbot, a bill view/comparison option, a communication management feature to communicate with customers using multiple communication options.

1.1.3 It is the County's desire to have services implemented and available by no later than February 1, 2027.

1.2. Background

1.2.1 Attachment B – Samples, has been provided for your reference.

1.2.2 The County provides drinking water, reclaimed water, and wastewater treatment services to Hillsborough County residences. Hillsborough County’s total number of devices for which the County provides services exceeds 230,000. The total population Hillsborough County provides potable water for is approximately 715,883.

1.2.3 Currently, the WRD accepts payments through the following payment channels:

1.2.3.1 Self Service Web Services (Govone e-Account)

1.2.3.2 Credit Cards/e-Check through our contracted third-party vendor

1.2.3.3 Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Design Requirements for IVR

1.2.3.4 County hosted IVR with call transfer to provider

1.2.3.5 County hosted IVR with a secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) forms post

1.2.3.6 Provider hosted IVR by 813 area code phone number

1.2.3.7 Electronically – customers' online personal banking service (e-Box i.e. - MasterCard Payment Presentation Services (MPPS)

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1.2.3.8 Amscot

1.2.3.9 Automatic Clearing House (ACH)

1.2.3.10 Lockbox (physical payments received by mail)

1.2.3.11 Drop Box

1.2.3.12 Customer Service Representative (Walk-up or Drive through)

1.2.3.13 Credit Card and ACH for recurring payments of Utility

1.2.3.14 Kiosk

1.2.4 Statistical Data:

1.2.4.1 Credit Cards: 110,924 customers submitted credit card payments by the IVR from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023, representing $14,152,399.42 in total dollars processed through the IVR during this period. 455,127 customers submitted credit card payments by the IWR from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023, representing $59,346,009.65 in total dollars processed through the IWR during this period.

1.2.4.1.1 Average Monthly Credit vs. Debit: Credit: 42,885/ Debit: 37,760.

1.2.4.1.2 Average Monthly payment for the period of October 2025: Residential $120.63/Commercial $1,786.57.

1.2.4.2 E-Check Payments: 15,310 customers submitted $3,313,533.69 e-Check payments by the IVR from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023, representing $17,465,913.11 in total dollars processed through IVR for e-Checks during this period. 189,261 customers submitted $34,936,861.85 e-Check payments by the IWR from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023, representing $94,282,871.50 in total dollars processed through IWR for e-Checks during this period. For the period, January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023, there were 770,622 e-Check transactions done $111,748,784.60.

1.2.4.3 E-Check Payments (Recurring Services): 390,204 customers submitted $65,185,171.24 e-Check payments by the recurring services from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023. Total 594,775 e-Check transactions totaling $103,435,566.80.

1.2.4.4 Electronic Payments (online banking): Average per month received 147,313, which represents 18.7% of total payments.

1.2.4.5 The County currently has 424,863 customer accounts and 212,146 currently active.

1.2.4.6 Mailing Envelopes: For the period of October 2025, 73,754 outer and 61,221 business return envelopes.

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1.2.4.7 Average Bill typically consists of one page. Most multi-premise accounts opt for paperless billing. For the period of October 2025, 136,004 letters were produced.

1.2.4.8 Paperless bills:

1.2.4.8.1 For the period of October 2025, 132,920 and 73,803 paper bills, currently printed daily.

1.2.4.8.2 Number of customers currently enrolled in paperless billing: 183,738.

1.2.4.9 Percentage of Online Payments/In-Person Payments: Completed online 96.3%, Completed in person 2.5%.

1.2.4.10 Percentage of packages to foreign and/or Canadian addresses: Less than 0.01% is Canadian or other foreign address.

1.2.4.11 Certified Mail: No print or mail packages are sent certified mail.

1.2.4.12 Kiosks: Average monthly payment volume at kiosks for the period of January through November 2025): Credit $86,551.00 across 519 transactions; E-Check $3,706.86 across 25 transactions; Cash $2,052.36 across 16 transactions.

1.3. Applicable Publications, Terminology, and Acronyms

The following publication(s) of the issue in effect on date of this solicitation, forms a part of this specification:

1.3.1 The Florida Sunshine law, State of Florida Statutes, Chapter 286.011.

https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0200- 0299/0286/0286ContentsIndex.html

1.3.2 The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) https://www.nist.gov/

1.3.3 The National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) https://www.nacha.org/

1.3.4 The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

https://www.wcag.com/

1.3.5 Fair Credit Reporting Act

https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/statutes/fair-credit-reporting-act

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1.3.6 Americans with Disability Act (ADA)

https://www.ada.gov/

The following terminology forms a part of this specification:

1.3.7 Automated Clearing House (ACH) shall mean the electronic clearing and settlement system used for financial transactions by United States (US) commercial banks and other institutions.

1.3.8 ACH Credit Origination Positive Pay Services shall mean that ACH payments received by wire transfer will be pass through this verification to prevent fraud.

1.3.9 Automatic Number Identification shall mean technology that automatically identifies the phone number of a caller.

1.3.10 Automatic Payment Scheduling shall mean the ability to set up a payment to be drafted on a predetermined date, as either a one-time option or on a recurring basis.

1.3.11 Budget Billing shall mean the ability to manage costs by averaging the monthly bill over a period to make it more consistent.

1.3.12 Contact Center shall mean integrated communication system that coordinates all telephone and electronic communications between the organization the public.

1.3.13 Customer Contact shall mean a record within a Customer Information System (CIS) of interactions with customers and/or actions taken on their account

1.3.14 Customer Information System shall mean a software or database that stores and manages customer information; including but not limited to, billing history, contact information, preferences, and interactions.

1.3.15 Customer Portal shall mean a secure online platform that gives customers visibility and the ability to interact with our organization.

1.3.16 Delinquent Bill shall mean a bill that includes a notice of an arrears balance.

1.3.17 Delinquent Notice shall mean a notification other than the regular billing to inform the customer of an arrears balance.

1.3.18 Fee Structure shall mean itemization of all transaction costs to the County for Proposer services.

1.3.19 Final Bill shall mean a bill that has been generated for a customer that has discontinued service.

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1.3.20 Geographic Information System shall mean a computer-based system used in geography for capturing, storing, manipulating, analyzing, and managing types of geographic data.

1.3.21 Insert shall mean a document placed inside an envelope with the bill.

1.3.22 Interactive Voice Response shall mean an automated phone system that allows customers to interact with their voice or a keypad to receive or provide information and complete tasks.

1.3.23 IVR Payment Channel shall mean the use of an IVR system to make payments without the need to interact with a live agent.

1.3.24 Interactive Web Response shall mean an online system that allows customers to access their account to receive or provide information and complete tasks.

1.3.25 Mobile App shall mean a software program designed to run on a mobile device like a smartphone or tablet.

1.3.26 Mobile Payment Solution shall mean a solution that allows acceptance of payments from a device.

1.3.27 Multi-Factor Authentication shall mean a security method that requires users to provide more than one credential to log in to an account.

1.3.28 Multimedia Messaging Services shall mean a standard way to send multimedia messages to and from a mobile phone over a cellular network.

1.3.29 Multi-Premise Bill shall mean a bill for one account that includes several service addresses.

1.3.30 Onsert shall mean a document(s) printed in line with a bill or statement.

1.3.31 Outbound Notification shall mean messages that are sent from an application to a recipient outside of the organization.

1.3.32 Paper Bills shall mean a printed bill statement that is mailed to the customer.

1.3.33 Paperless Bills shall mean a bill statement that is presented to the customer in an electronic format.

1.3.34 Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard shall mean a mandatory set of guidelines and rules for all businesses that process credit or debit card transactions. It provides a baseline of technical and operation requirements that organizations shall uphold to protect payment account data.

1.3.35 PCI Payment Application DSS shall mean a set of global security standards that help software vendors create secure payment applications.

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1.3.36 Post-Route File shall mean the file sent by the County to the Contractor to be processed to produce paper bills and paperless bills.

1.3.37 Real-time Payment shall mean payments processed immediately and continuously. This process is available 24/7/365. Unlike traditional payments, RTP systems immediately transfer funds from one bank account to another. The transaction is completed within seconds, and the recipient has immediate access to the funds.

1.3.38 Rich Communications Services shall mean a modern message standard for instant messaging for mobile devices that tend to be more secure and dynamic than MMS and Short Message Services (SMS).

1.3.39 Short Message Services shall mean a text messaging service that allows users to send and receive short messages on mobile devices.

1.3.40 Single Premise Bill shall mean a bill for one account that includes one service address.

1.3.41 Software as a Service shall mean a method of software delivery and licensing in which software is accessed online by a subscription, rather than bought and installed on individual computers.

1.3.42 Special Alert Bill shall mean a bill that generated with targeted information; for example, to remind a customer the account is set up for automatic payment.

1.3.43 Statement on Auditing Standards shall mean guidelines issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants that help external auditors and Certified Public Accountants audit organizations.

1.3.44 Web Content Accessibility Guidelines shall mean a set of standards that help web developers and content creators ensure that their digital content is accessible to all audiences, regardless of their physical or cognitive limitations.

The following acronyms forms a part of this specification:

ACH Automated Clearing House ADA Americans with Disability Act AI Artificial Intelligence AICPA American Institute of Certified Public Accountants ANI Automatic Number Identification CIO Chief Information Officer CIS Customer Information System CISO Chief Information Security Officer COPS Credit Origination Positive Pay Services CPA Certified Public Accountant CVS Comma-Separated Values DSS Data Security Standard

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EST Eastern Standard Time FAQ Frequently Asked Question GIS Geographic Information System IVR Interactive Voice Response IWR Interactive Web Response MFA Multi-Factor Authentication MMS Multimedia Messaging Services NACHA National Automated Clearing House Association NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology PA Payment Application PCI Payment Card Industry PDF Portable Document Format PHI Protected Health Information PII Personally Identifiable Information POS Point of Sale QR Quick Response RTP Real-Time Payment RCS Rich Communications Services SMS Short Message Services SaaS Software as a Service WCAG Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

1.4. Minimum Qualifications

1.4.1 The Proposer or principal thereof shall demonstrate recent experience in providing substantially similar services.

1.4.2 The Proposer shall have successful and documented experience providing online, interactive voice response (IVR), a simple-to-use, web-based system that allows for managing end users credit/debit card, autopay with credit cards, and eCheck payment processing for other Utilities/Government customers, and with providing a mobile application (app) that is available for download in the Android and Apple store.

1.4.3 The Proposer is allowed the use of subcontractors to provide all required services and solutions. The Proposer shall, as part of their Proposal Response, state any intent to use subcontractors for any of the services. Intended subcontractor(s) will be evaluated and approved as part of the Evaluation Process.

1.5. Minimum Requirements

1.5.1 The Contractor shall be solely responsible for all sub-contracted services.

1.5.2 The Contractor shall use its credit card authorization services to validate, authorize, and capture County Customers’ credit card payments and post the payment to the customer’s utilities account in real-time, which requires interfacing with the County’s Enterprise Solutions’ Customer

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Information System (CIS) software. The Contractor shall be responsible for all costs associated with the interfacing requirement of the CIS software.

1.5.3 The Contractor shall be responsible for providing services that allow customers to pay their utility bill using a credit or debit card(s) with nationally recognized processors.

1.5.4 Bill Print and Mail Services

The Contractor shall provide full bill print, mail and display services to the County for existing operational requirements. This will include, but not be limited to:

1.5.4.1 Provide an error-free bill and bill notice print file, transmitted to Contractor from the Hillsborough batch processing, for formatting and the creation of paper bills and electronic replicas of paper bills.

1.5.4.2 Bills/Letters shall be produced on 8.5” x 11” paper duplex (two (2) sided printing).

County will send for daily print processing using the following format: DAT, CSV, PDF, depending on the print request.

1.5.4.3 Format and print hard copy bills including special instructions, messages, banners, and remittance stub for accounts flagged in the post route file to receive paper bills.

1.5.4.4 Format and produce an electronic copy including special instructions, messages, banners, and remittance stub for accounts flagged in the post route file to receive paperless bills.

1.5.4.5 Provide bill redesign services as needed.

1.5.4.6 Enclose bills/onserts based on Hillsborough communications and customer segmentation rules into envelopes.

1.5.4.7 Presort, USPS certify, and mail. This will include any pass-through charges, paid to the awarded Contractor by the County, for foreign and flat metered postage charges.

1.5.4.8 Bill print solution will provide onsert solution options for a continuous bill attachment.

1.5.4.9 Send electronic notification of new bill/invoice if applicable with push notification option.

1.5.4.10 Promptly archive electronic bill images and make available online for customers/Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) for the period-of-time. The Contractor is obligated to retain billing history as described in Sub-Paragraphs 1.3.14, 1.9.2.7.1 and elsewhere in this RFP.

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1.5.5 Payment System/Point of Sale (POS) Solution

1.5.5.1 The Solution shall establish Electronic Check (e-Check) payment capabilities for the County’s Enterprise Solutions as an option that customers can use to make a one-time payment as a guest or with a standard user login.

1.5.5.2 The Contractor shall give the County the ability to configure maximum and minimum allowable e-Check payments with the Solution.

1.5.5.3 The County will continue to manage the ACH (a.k.a. Automatic Bank Payments [APB]) relationship with its customers. However, the Solution shall have capabilities to establish a recurring credit card, ACH, e-Check processing components for County utility bills, which requires interfacing with the County's CIS server components. The establishment of a dedicated partnership is essential to provide the County with a successful product.

1.5.5.4 The Contractor shall provide a payment solution within the customer self-service portal that will allow the County to take credit/debit cards, E-Check and ACH transactions for its customers. The payment options shall include Point of Sale (POS), Online, IVR, and Mobile Payment Solutions. The payment system and POS solution shall be part of a simple-to-use web-based system that allows for managing customers’ credit/debit and e-Check payment transactions. The Solution shall include, but not be limited to, the following built-in features:

1.5.5.4.1 A secure web link specific to the County.

1.5.5.4.2 Real-time reports: All payment transactions are recorded in real-time into reports. The daily reconciliation and payment transaction reports are two (2) ad hoc reports, which the County can create on demand. The payment report is used for managing the payment transactions and the transaction reconciliation report will match, to the penny, to our County’s bank deposits.

1.5.5.4.3 Ability for the County to create, update, edit, and delete customers who are cash or money order only in order to ‘block’ them so they cannot have the ability to submit a payment using an e-Check through the vendor’s web portal.

1.5.5.5 Interactive Voice Response (IVR): The Contractor shall provide the County with a toll-free phone number that is available 24 hours a day, seven (7) days a week, 365 days a year.

A mutually acceptable maintenance schedule for hardware and software supporting the IVR unit shall be published to the County. The IVR shall accept credit/debit and e-Check (ACH) payments. After the caller has keyed or spoke the requested information, the caller is given a voice confirmation number. Once the credit/debit card or e-Check (ACH) transaction is approved, the IVR payment shall be recorded in Contractor’s reports in the web-based system and CIS in real time. The IVR unit may accommodate both English and Spanish speakers and may include other language options mutually agreed to by the County and Contractor at current fee rates. The IVR solution shall interface with the CIS system to recognize/match the

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1.5.5.6 Mobile App: The Contractor shall provide the County with a mobile app, which shall mirror the features described below for the customer portal.

1.5.5.6.1 The mobile app shall be available for free download in the Android and Apple stores.

1.5.5.6.2 The mobile app shall be hosted and maintained by the Contractor and shall include the County’s logo in the mobile app.

1.5.5.7 The Contractor shall provide a customer portal technology access platform that supports the following functions listed below, but not limited to:

1.5.5.7.1 Display the current Hillsborough County logo, branding information, and include department contact information.

1.5.5.7.2 User registration shall be simple, straightforward, and accessible with as few clear steps as possible.

1.5.5.7.3 User can manage their profile, account, and password.

1.5.5.7.4 User can select and enroll/update easily in paperless billing.

1.5.5.7.5 Provide a Bill Display so that users can view all details of current bills.

1.5.5.7.6 Allow guest access to make payments.

1.5.5.7.7 Make a payment of current charges, past due charges, and partial payments.

1.5.5.7.8 Option to split payment between two (2) payment methods.

1.5.5.7.9 Set up a payment arrangement based on guidelines and parameters predetermined by Hillsborough County.

1.5.5.7.10 View and compare a minimum of 15 rolling months of account history such as billing, payment, and meter usage details.

1.5.5.7.11 Set up automatic payment scheduling:

1.5.5.7.11.1 With the ability for the County and customer to set maximum draft amount for ACH or Credit Card.

1.5.5.7.11.2 With the ability for the County to set minimum draft amount for Credit Card.

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1.5.5.7.12 Generate a request to view, print, email, or text a duplicate bill or payment receipts.

1.5.5.7.13 Navigation options to include customer opted SMS, MMS, RCS, and email confirmation responses.

1.5.5.7.14 Link to department web pages for information such as current rates, watering days and restrictions, and payment options/locations.

1.5.5.7.15 Ability to survey customers.

1.5.5.7.16 Self-service account management.

1.5.5.7.16.1 Balance Due/Due Date

1.5.5.7.16.2 Next Bill Print Date

1.5.5.7.16.3 Usage review: Current and Historical

1.5.5.7.16.4 Start/Stop Service

1.5.5.7.16.5 Transfer Service

1.5.5.7.16.6 Name Change

1.5.5.7.16.7 Mailing Address, Email, Phone Number Change.

1.5.5.7.16.8 Submit leak adjustments

1.5.5.7.17 Ability for AI driven chat filter that directs inquires to Live Chat or Chatbot.

1.5.5.7.18 Multi-language translation option with English, Spanish, and other language options mutually agreed to by the County and the Contractor.

1.5.5.7.19 Ability to manage multiple accounts with one (1) login.

1.5.5.7.20 Provide QR code technology, that supports MFA, and supporting information within email and text that includes, but not limited to, automatic login and payment.

1.5.5.7.21 Provide and maintain online instructional materials, including videos, for customers.

1.5.5.7.22 Ability to interface with meter data management software systems to display customer’s water read history and usage history (hourly, daily, monthly, seasonal).

1.5.5.7.23 Ability to review and compare prior/current bills (15 months).

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1.5.5.7.24 Ability to sign up for notifications by text, email, phone call regarding their account or department related updates.

1.5.5.7.25 The Customer Portal portion of the solution shall integrate and be compatible with all leading web and mobile browsers such as, but not limited to:

1.5.5.7.25.1 Chrome

1.5.5.7.25.2 Microsoft Edge

1.5.5.7.25.3 Internet Explorer

1.5.5.7.25.4 Mozilla Firefox

1.5.5.7.25.5 Safari

1.5.5.7.25.6 Mac OS

1.5.5.7.25.7 iOS Devices

1.5.5.7.25.8 Android Devices

1.5.5.7.26 The portal shall interface with the County’s third-party consumer reporting agency to facilitate credit check and waive deposit requirements for residential customers who would like to submit a start service request by the portal.

1.5.5.7.26.1 Customer will enter their data, and a real-time response of pass or fail shall generate.

1.5.5.7.26.2 If the credit check yields a pass status, no deposit will be required to start service.

1.5.5.7.26.3 If the credit check results in a fail status, a deposit alert should generate, indicating a deposit will be required to start service.

1.5.5.7.26.4 Once the credit check is complete, the customer should be able to submit their request to the Water Resources Contact Center Group for review and processing.

1.5.5.7.26.5 Interface shall follow all Federal Trade Commission requirements including the Fair Credit Reporting Act Red Flag Rule requirements.

1.5.5.7.26.6 If the system alerts of red flag concerns, customer shall be directed to the County Contact Center Group.

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1.5.5.7.27 The customer portal and payment solutions shall contain accessibility standards and compliance solution with the ADA.

1.5.5.7.28 The customer portal/payment solution shall contain a conveyance property update feature that facilitates updates for multi-unit accounts or owner to tenant accounts that are constantly changing to auto create new records when a new account name is listed, clearing a previous account holder’s setup.

1.5.5.7.29 The customer portal shall contain budget billing setup and signup and display for customers to see what the budget billing amounts and periods are.

1.5.5.8 The Contractor shall provide an agent portal for staff to be able to proxy and assist customers trying to register or navigate the customer portal, but not limited to:

1.5.5.8.1 Setup based on user roles.

1.5.5.8.2 Track payments from all payment methods.

1.5.5.8.3 Cancel and reverse payments.

1.5.5.8.4 Immediate identification of non-sufficient funds (NSF) posting and other payment issues.

1.5.5.8.5 Send payment reminders or link to customers by pay by text option while on a call with the customer.

1.5.5.8.6 Track or resend customers their monthly bills or link to access their bills.

1.5.5.8.7 Contain a dashboard of statistics relating to payments, customer portal usage, and registrations.

1.5.5.8.8 Feature to pull ad hoc or scheduled reports of payments and customer activity on the customer portal.

1.5.5.8.9 The Contractor shall present the bill image the same online, on paper, on CIS, and by the customer portal.

1.5.5.9 The Contractor shall provide monthly utility invoices using a variety of delivery channels, but not limited to:

1.5.5.9.1 Paper (includes generating the front and back bill stock, mailing envelope and return envelope).

1.5.5.9.2 E-bill (includes delivery by email and text (SMS, MMS, and RCS).

1.5.5.9.3 Customer Portal (all customers and service types).

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1.5.5.10 The Contractor shall generate a variety of full color bill types, but not limited to:

1.5.5.10.1 Single-Premise Bills

1.5.5.10.2 Multi-Premise Bills

1.5.5.10.3 Delinquent Bills

1.5.5.10.4 Final Bills

1.5.5.10.5 Special Alert Bills

1.5.5.10.6 Delinquent Notices

1.5.5.10.7 Budget Billing

1.5.5.10.8 Other printed material to inform Utility customers of regulatory or County events.

1.5.5.11 The Contractor shall generate bills that include, but not be limited to:

1.5.5.11.1 Deposits

1.5.5.11.2 Fees

1.5.5.11.3 Service Charges

1.5.5.11.4 Payment Arrangements/Encumbrances Total History

1.5.5.11.5 Cancelled Payment Arrangements

1.5.5.11.6 Adjustments

1.5.5.11.7 Refunds/Credits

1.5.5.11.8 Itemization of bill charges

1.5.5.11.9 Bill History Graphs for each Register and Meter

1.5.5.12 The Contractor shall accurately present the bill based on the bill file record layout provided by the County from the daily post-route file. The Contractor shall process this file within four (4) hours of receipt. Any processing delays shall be communicated by the Contractor to the County as soon as possible.

1.5.5.13 The Contractor shall have equipment and programming capabilities for full color inserts and onserts on bills, as requested by the County.

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1.5.5.14 The Contractor shall provide a Cloud-Based PCI DSS compliant third-party call center agent-assisted payment processing module or like integrated application for IVR credit card processing that will allow customer service representatives to assist customers with questions or payments while keeping payment information hidden from Contact Center representatives.

1.5.5.15 The Contractor shall provide Omni-channel integration and accept POS payments by IVR, customer portal, mobile devices, digital wallets, cashier stations (walk-up/in-person), kiosks, lockboxes, desktops, and Contact Center (Cloud-Based solution) as well as any other common or emerging payment channels.

1.5.5.16 The Contractor shall securely store customer payment information that will allow customers to make quick payments/deposits by email, text, and/or customer portal.

1.5.5.17 The Contractor shall accept a wide array of payment solutions such as cash, check, credit card, ACH, and e-commerce to include mobile payment services such as, but not limited to:

1.5.5.17.1 Venmo

1.5.5.17.2 PayPal

1.5.5.17.3 Retail Locations

1.5.5.17.4 Apple Pay

1.5.5.17.5 Amazon Pay

1.5.5.17.6 Google Pay

1.5.5.18 The Contractor shall restrict users from processing credit cards or ACH when the CIS payment denial switches or status alerts are activated.

1.5.5.19 The Contractor shall not post any payments to CIS until the payment is validated and has cleared.

1.5.5.20 The Contractor shall restrict transaction payments to United States Dollars (USD) only.

1.5.5.21 The Contractor shall invoice the County for all services provided, a clear fee schedule, and shall not net their fees from settlements.

1.5.5.22 The Contractor shall provide both the following pricing options that can be chosen and changed by County discretion with a 30-day notice:

1.5.5.22.1 Fee structure in which the County gets billed for all fees.

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1.5.5.22.2 Fee structure in which customers get billed for applicable fees.

1.5.5.23 The Contractor shall adhere to the County’s daily settlement time for all applications of 11:59 PM EST, including weekends and holidays. All funds shall be transferred from the card issuing bank and electronically deposited into the County bank account(s) immediately.

All transaction files and reports will be available the next day, before 10:00 AM EST.

1.5.5.24 The Contractor shall provide capabilities for an IVR payment channel:

1.5.5.24.1 It should be simple, straightforward, and accessible with as few clear steps as possible.

1.5.5.24.2 Phone number recognition to account.

1.5.5.24.3 Provide updated account balance for customers.

1.5.5.24.4 Multi-language translation option with English, Spanish, and include other language options mutually agreed to by the County and the Contractor.

1.5.5.24.5 Users able to select and enroll/update easily in paperless billing.

1.5.5.24.6 Shall have an advanced speech-to-text engine.

1.5.5.24.7 Allow guest access to make payments.

1.5.5.24.8 Make a payment for current charges, past due charges, and partial payments.

1.5.5.24.9 Option to split payment between two payment methods.

1.5.5.24.10 Ability to securely remember credit card information and set up automatic payment scheduling.

1.5.5.24.10.1 With ability for the County and customer to set maximum draft amount for ACH or Credit Card.

1.5.5.24.10.2 With ability for the County to set minimum draft amount for Credit Card.

1.5.5.24.11 Navigation options to include customer opted SMS and email confirmation responses.

1.5.5.24.12 Ability for the Contract Center to transfer customers to make a payment using IVR and upon payment confirmation/acceptance, the call is rerouted back to the same representative to finalize the call.

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1.5.5.24.13 The IVR have an interface with the County’s third-party consumer reporting agency to facilitate a credit check and waive deposit requirements for residential customers who call the County to start service.

1.5.5.24.13.1 Customers call the Contact Center to start service, the representative shall be able to transfer them to the third-party Credit Reporting option where customers will enter their data, and a real-time response of pass or fail shall generate.

1.5.5.24.13.2 If the credit check yields a pass status, no deposit will be required to start service.

1.5.5.24.13.3 If the credit check results in a fail status, a deposit alert should generate indicating a deposit will be required to start service on the representative’s side.

1.5.5.24.13.4 Once the credit check is complete, the status shall appear on the representative’s system, the call shall get routed back to the representative that transferred the customer to the credit check system to proceed and finalize the service setup process.

1.5.5.24.13.5 Interface shall follow the Fair Credit Reporting Act red flags rule.

1.5.5.24.13.6 If the system alerts red flag concerns, customer shall be redirected to the representative.

1.5.5.25 The Contractor shall provide a Communication Manager feature in the agent portal for communication to be sent to customers by Email, Phone Call, text message, campaign messaging, and GIS polygon selection that include but not limited to:

1.5.5.25.1 Welcome new customers letter.

1.5.5.25.2 Water Outages and/or system outages.

1.5.5.25.3 New features coming.

1.5.5.25.4 Campaign messaging by banners on accounts.

1.5.5.26 The Contractor shall provide for outbound notifications by SMS, MMS, RCS, phone calls, and email that include, but not limited to:

1.5.5.26.1 Amount Owed.

1.5.5.26.2 Amount Paid.

1.5.5.26.3 Amount Overdue.

1.5.5.26.4 General Notices.

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1.5.5.26.5 Advance Notices/Reminders of bill due date.

1.5.5.26.6 Water usage over the threshold the customer has preselected notification for.

1.5.5.27 The Contractor shall adhere to all local, state, and federal laws when creating outbound notifications. Outbound notifications shall interface with CIS data sources with the option of response verifications to be written to CIS as a customer contact.

1.5.5.28 The Contractor shall provide for secure encrypted transactions between contractor hosted components and County systems such as, but not limited to, CIS with separate security level administration, financial transaction processing, and reporting.

1.5.5.29 The Contractor shall provide secure password MFA with ANI for the IVR and device remembrance for the customer portal to both utility customers and county employees. This authentication should have multiple options including, but not limited to, text, e-mail, and phone call and device recognition option.

1.5.5.30 The Contractor shall provide the County notification in all applicable channels of customer communication.

1.5.5.30.1 Advance notice of mutually acceptable maintenance and update schedule for hardware and software.

1.5.5.30.2 Prompt notice of any unexpected or unscheduled downtime.

1.5.5.31 The Contractors are required to deliver the following minimum non-functional requirements:

1.5.5.31.1 The solution shall support a Cloud-Based platform with built-in interstate environment redundancy.

1.5.5.31.2 The solution shall support Software as a Service (SaaS) as the preferred method of application and data access.

1.5.5.31.3 The solution shall ensure the County retains ownership of all data, excluding full credit card numbers, and this data shall be provided to the County upon request within a reasonable timeframe.

1.5.5.31.4 The solution shall meet or exceed all banking, state, and federal regulations including all the following security requirements:

1.5.5.31.4.1 PCI Level one (1) compliant payment processor (this is the highest security level standard by the Payment Card Industry).

1.5.5.31.4.2 Show no exceptions to the Statement on Auditing Standards, SSAE 16 Type II, (formally known as SAS 70 Type II Audit) in the last three (3) years.

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1.5.5.31.4.3 National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) compliant with proof of passing annual audit from the Electronic Payments Association.

1.5.5.31.4.4 Automated Clearing House Credit Origination Positive Pay Services (ACH C.O.P.S.) with proof of the highest level of security to prevent account theft for ACH payments.

1.5.5.31.4.5 Proof of continuous internal audits.

1.5.5.32 The Contractor shall demonstrate the capacity to comply with all levels and standards of the following:

1.5.5.32.1 Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

1.5.5.32.2 PCI Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS).

1.5.5.32.3 Requirements and Security Assessment Procedures define security requirements.

1.5.5.32.4 National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA).

1.5.5.32.5 National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

1.5.5.32.6 The solution shall provide access to data per the Florida Sunshine Law.

1.5.5.32.7 The solution shall support a level of AA or higher with 508 compliance/Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

1.5.5.33 The Contractor shall maintain the following service levels:

1.5.5.33.1 Maintain consistent and stable system performance levels.

1.5.5.33.2 Maintain 99.9% up-time for all systems, excluding scheduled maintenance.

1.5.5.33.3 Provide 24/7/365 support desk assistance.

1.5.5.33.4 Provide 24/7/365 support for all modules included in the solution.

1.5.5.33.5 Provide for all services and data management to be hosted within the continental United States.

1.5.5.34 The Contractor shall support existing kiosks or replace with solution supported kiosks at no charge to the County.

1.5.5.35 The Contractor shall provide a method for the County to request/submit payment reversals.

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1.5.6 Payment Settlement

1.5.6.1 The Contractor shall perform daily and have available a settlement report demonstrating total payment. The daily settlement information shall be available to Hillsborough County 24/7.

1.5.6.2 The Contractor will work with Hillsborough County to determine file formatting and offer optional payment settlement times that are EST specific.

1.5.6.3 When changes to the settlement time are required, the Contractor shall have the ability to make the requested changes within a 24-hour period.

1.5.7 File Transfer Capabilities:

1.5.7.1 The Contractor shall provide access to a Secured File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) server that allows County the ability to securely manage file transfer information between all sources involved with credit card transactions.

1.5.7.2 The Contractor shall perform a daily file transfer of funds (daily depository files) to the County’s approved depository bank. The daily depository shall match the total dollars collected from County customers for all payment transactions submitted for the day. The daily depository files transfer time to be determined by the County.

1.5.7.3 In accordance with the above mandatory requirements, the Contractor shall generate daily transactions reconciliation files which are accessible to County for the following:

1.5.7.3.1 A payment file showing in detail, daily number of transactions reconciliation that occurred through the various revenue channels of the Contractor (e-Check, IVR, Walk-up, Self Service, including credit card breakdown by type).

1.5.7.3.2 A separate file showing a detailed per transaction report that also provides a daily total of County’s cost for the service.

1.5.7.3.3 A report showing reconciled cost-plus coverage component of the fee charged per County Customer.

1.5.7.3.4 Real-time transaction authorization records will provide originating source of payment to update CIS at a minimum but not limited to: Website, IVR, and Payment Processing Center’s payments. Interfacing with CIS to update County customers’ account with the payment and shall occur upon immediate authorization of customer’s payment.

All integration costs are the responsibility of the Contractor.

1.5.8 Return File/Charge Backs

1.5.8.1 County Charge Backs: The Contractor’s Merchant Services shall be responsible for providing immediate notification to the County of all transactions, as they occur, that have

RFP-26-00262 Page 23 been disputed (Chargebacks) by the cardholder or issuer for a resolution. A Charge-Back Adjustment Advice (CBAA) shall be issued to the County for a response to all inquiries regarding fraudulent charges made on a cardholder’s credit card. The CBAA shall include the following: customer name, issuance date, respond by date, Charge back reason code and definition, transaction type, merchant number, transaction amount, dispute amount, invoice/ticket number, dispute account number (credit card #), rollup number, case number, reference number, transaction date, posting date, resolved date, original reference number, received date, and the Primary Account Number (PAN) key entry date. The merchant services shall allow time for the County to fully investigate all charge-back requests and upon approval, initiate the issuance of credits back onto the cardholder’s credit card.

1.5.8.2 County Payments: The Contractor shall demonstrate its capability and capacity to provide a secure direct sever connection to post credit card payments. The utilization of an Application Programming Interface tool is a preferred method. The County is looking for Contractors to present a secure direct connection between the credit card application and the County’s Customer Information System’s (CIS) application. The interface will be for all channels used to submit a credit card payment.

1.5.8.2.1 The use of an Internet Gateway software product will not be accepted. The County does not want the use of an Internet Gateway Software product as the driver of the credit card system.

1.5.8.2.2 The Contractor shall allow differentiation of various originating payment channels to the credit card application which can occur over the telephone and as a walk-in customer in the payment processing center, or Kiosk. The Contractor shall build in the requirements to retrieve the customer’s utilities account status to determine if the customer can use the self-service method to make a credit card payment. Access restrictions to pay the utilities account shall be put in place based on the County utilities account status. Customers will be required to contact the County Water Resources Customer Service Department to make a payment on account when a delinquent disconnect service notification is pending.

1.5.8.2.3 The County shall be given the ability by the Contractor to configure maximum and minimum allowable credit card payment payments with the environment. Real time transaction authorization records will provide originating source of payment to update CIS at minimum but not limited to Website, IVR, Payment Processing Center, Kiosk payments.

1.5.9 Online Reporting Tool – County

1.5.9.1 The Contractor shall provide online report capabilities for development of business reports and data management including, but not limited to, the following categories:

1.5.9.1.1 Customer’s CIS contract account number

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1.5.9.1.2 Credit Card Type

1.5.9.1.3 Data

1.5.9.1.4 Transaction reference number

1.5.9.1.5 Credit card last four (4) digits

1.5.9.1.6 Amount

1.5.9.1.7 Customer billing data

1.5.9.1.8 Customer ID

1.5.9.1.9 Payment methods (IVR, Web, Kiosk, Mobile payment options, Retailer, etc.)

1.5.9.1.10 E-Check payment activity

1.5.9.2 The online reporting tool will provide the ability to export information to CSV and PDF formats.

1.5.9.3 The online reporting tool shall have the ability to differentiate payment activity in order to categorize and query the information needed for viewing. This will include failed payment attempts. It will be necessary for the system to have the ability to allow a representative to update CIS when the credit card payment is successfully captured but CIS was not updated. Preventative methods to bridge the gap in systems communication shall be presented by the Contractor.

1.5.9.4 The Contractor shall also provide an exception reporting tool to track credit card payment anomalies. The purpose of this report is to display the failed payment activity.

1.5.10 Architecture Design Criteria

1.5.11 The Contractor shall provide Hillsborough County a detailed schematic design/flow chart showing its communications interface components. The design shall show how the Contractor's communication system will interact with the CIS. The Contractor shall demonstrate the communication flow of data and a contingency plan in case of communication failure.

1.5.12 Testing Environment

1.5.13 For all services a mirror image testing environment must be provided and maintained for the duration of the contract.

1.5.14 System Failure Alerts

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1.5.14.1 The Contractor shall work with the CIS Business Analytics and Application Support Group to develop system alerts when application failures, system maintenance, or other issues that require any of the relating systems (CIS, Credit Card application, etc.) to go offline.

1.5.14.2 The Contractor shall establish and communicate a definitive plan on how they are to handle system failures. Real time alerts are a critical component that the Contractor will need to have in place.

1.5.14.3 The successful Contractor will have a system that will alert Hillsborough County of failed communications during the authorization and capture phase of the payment cycle section immediately upon failure as well as provide system reports verifying the time of failure. The system alert shall notify a designated group of Hillsborough County staff members that a communication failure has occurred.

1.5.14.4 The Contractor will be required to provide Hillsborough County with the capabilities to access customer data to correct payment failure conditions when the failure was due to system error (credit card…