2026-0921_Municipal_Commercial_Credit_Card_and_Expense_Management_Services.pdf

City of Orange Beach – 2026-0921 Commercial Credit Card & Expense Management RFP

CITY OF ORANGE BEACH

MUNICIPAL COMMERCIAL CREDIT CARD AND EXPENSE MANAGEMENT SERVICES

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY / STAFF RECOMMENDATION

The City of Orange Beach is evaluating its municipal commercial credit card program with the goal of increasing financial returns while improving purchasing efficiency, electronic receipt management, departmental coding, budget tracking, reporting, travel authorization, and internal controls.

The City's desired future-state program would provide a competitive cash rebate, monthly rebate payments, sufficient credit capacity for significant municipal purchases, electronic receipt and approval workflows, departmental coding, OpenGov integration or data exchange, downloadable reporting, and implementation and training support.

Current Program vs. Desired Program Feature Current Desired / Proposed Rebate Annual 1.50% standard spend; paid monthly Initial Credit Limit Current limit $800,000 Large Purchases Subject to current capacity Ability to accommodate $250,000+ municipal transactions Receipts Paper/manual Electronic upload Department Coding Manual Online coding OpenGov Manual entry Integration/data exchange capability Reporting Current system CSV/PDF downloads Travel Authorization Paper signatures Electronic authorization planned Training Current process Online training + in-person implementation support

1. NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The City of Orange Beach, Alabama ("City") is soliciting competitive proposals from qualified financial institutions to provide municipal commercial credit card and related expense management services.

The City is seeking a financial institution capable of providing a comprehensive commercial credit card program that maximizes financial benefits to the City while improving purchasing efficiency, receipt management, departmental coding, budget tracking, reporting, travel authorization, and overall administrative controls.

The selected financial institution shall demonstrate the ability to provide competitive rebate terms, sufficient purchasing capacity, comprehensive online account management, electronic receipt and expense management, reporting capabilities, and implementation and training support.

The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, waive informalities, request clarification or additional information, negotiate with one or more respondents, and select the proposal determined to be in the best interest of the City.

2. INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE

The City of Orange Beach currently utilizes a municipal commercial credit card program for various City expenditures.

The City is evaluating opportunities to modernize and improve its credit card program by:

• Increasing the financial rebate received by the City;

• Receiving rebates on a more frequent basis;

• Increasing available purchasing capacity;

• Facilitating large municipal purchases;

• Eliminating unnecessary paper-based receipt and authorization processes;

• Improving departmental expense coding;

• Improving budget tracking and accountability;

• Integrating credit card reporting with the City's financial management systems;

• Improving travel authorization and expense management;

• Reducing administrative processing time;

• Improving electronic recordkeeping; and

• Strengthening internal controls and fraud prevention.

The purpose of this RFP is to identify the financial institution that can provide the City with the best overall combination of financial benefit, technology, service, security, and implementation support.

3. BACKGROUND – CITY OF ORANGE BEACH

The City of Orange Beach is a municipal government located in Alabama.

The City conducts a wide range of governmental, public service, operational, recreational, infrastructure, administrative, and other municipal activities requiring the purchase of goods and services.

The City's commercial credit card program must therefore accommodate both routine purchases and significant municipal expenditures.

The City anticipates an initial aggregate commercial credit card limit of approximately $800,000. The City reserves the right to increase the aggregate credit limit as operational needs require.

The selected financial institution must demonstrate the ability to accommodate substantial municipal expenditures without creating unnecessary delays or interruptions in City operations.

The City of Orange Beach currently maintains 37 credit cards for authorized departmental and municipal business purposes. The cards are utilized by various City departments for approved expenditures in accordance with applicable City policies and procedures.

To assist prospective proposers in understanding the City's current credit card program and anticipated level of activity, the following summarizes the City's monthly credit card spending for the period of July 2025 through July 2026.

Month Total Monthly Spending

July 2025 $32,488.51

August 2025 $51,008.03

September 2025 $39,283.68

October 2025 $44,317.39

November 2025 $35,188.23

Month Total Monthly Spending

December 2025 $44,048.34

Average – July–December 2025 $38,672.36

January 2026 $39,005.57

February 2026 $39,894.07

March 2026 $46,343.91

April 2026 $29,184.04

May 2026 $56,833.70

June 2026 $61,883.53

July 2026 $49,788.12

Average – January–July 2026 $46,133.28

The historical spending information provided above is intended for informational and proposal-development purposes only. Actual future spending may vary based on departmental needs, purchasing activity, seasonal fluctuations, and other factors.

4. OBJECTIVES OF THE RFP

The City's primary objectives are to obtain:

Financial Benefits

• Competitive cash rebate on eligible purchases;

• Monthly payment of earned rebates;

• No unnecessary annual rebate delay;

• Competitive fees and terms; and

• Flexible credit capacity.

Administrative Efficiency

• Online receipt upload;

• Electronic transaction approval;

• Departmental coding;

• Automated expense workflows;

• Elimination or reduction of paper documentation; and

• Improved turnaround time.

Technology

• Online account management;

• Downloadable transaction reports;

• CSV reporting capability;

• PDF reporting capability;

• Integration capabilities with OpenGov; and

• Travel authorization and management functionality.

Service

• Dedicated customer service;

• Prompt issue resolution;

• Local/in-person implementation support;

• Online training; and

• Ongoing training and assistance.

Internal Controls

• Fraud prevention;

• Purchase controls;

• Employee/cardholder controls;

• Transaction monitoring; and

• Electronic audit trails.

5. SCOPE OF SERVICES

The selected financial institution shall provide a comprehensive municipal commercial credit card program.

At a minimum, proposals should address:

1. Commercial credit cards;

2. Credit limits;

3. Cash rebates;

4. Online account management;

5. Receipt management;

6. Departmental coding;

7. Expense approval workflows;

8. Travel authorization and management;

9. Reporting;

10. Data export;

11. OpenGov integration capabilities;

12. Fraud prevention;

13. Card controls;

14. Employee/cardholder management;

15. Customer service;

16. Implementation;

17. Training; and

18. Ongoing technical support.

6. COMMERCIAL CREDIT CARD REQUIREMENTS

The City anticipates establishing an initial aggregate credit limit of $800,000.

The successful proposer shall describe its ability to:

• Establish an initial aggregate limit of $800,000;

• Increase the credit limit as needed by the City;

• Establish individual cardholder limits;

• Establish departmental spending limits;

• Establish transaction limits;

• Establish merchant category restrictions;

• Temporarily increase limits when necessary;

• Accommodate large municipal purchases;

• Provide controls over cash advances; and

• Establish purchasing restrictions based upon City policy.

Large Purchases The City's commercial credit card program must be capable of accommodating significant municipal expenditures. For example, the City anticipates monthly expenditures such as its Republic Waste Services bill averaging approximately $250,000 per month.

The proposer shall explain how its program would accommodate transactions of this magnitude without unnecessarily affecting other City purchasing activity.

7. REBATE AND FINANCIAL TERMS

The City is seeking a competitive cash rebate structure.

The City considers the following proposed terms to be a desirable benchmark:

Standard Spend Rebate: 1.50% Rebate Payment Frequency: Monthly

The City currently receives its rebate annually. The City is seeking a program under which earned rebates are paid on a monthly basis.

Proposers shall provide:

• Standard rebate percentage;

• Any tiered rebate structure;

• Categories of purchases excluded from rebates;

• Rebate calculation methodology;

• Rebate payment frequency;

• Minimum requirements for receiving rebates;

• Any annual rebate maximum;

• Any monthly rebate maximum;

• Any expiration provisions;

• Any fees that reduce the effective rebate; and

• Any conditions affecting rebate eligibility.

8. CREDIT LIMIT AND PURCHASING CAPACITY

The City anticipates beginning the program with an aggregate credit limit of $800,000.

The City desires the ability to increase this limit as necessary without having to undergo an unnecessarily burdensome process.

The proposer shall describe:

• Initial credit limit available;

• Maximum available credit;

• Process for increasing the City's credit limit;

• Time required to process an increase;

• Emergency/temporary credit limit increases;

• Individual cardholder limits;

• Departmental limits;

• Transaction limits; and

• Daily and monthly limits.

The proposer shall specifically explain how it would accommodate a large recurring municipal expenditure of approximately $250,000 per month while maintaining sufficient purchasing capacity for other City departments.

9. ELECTRONIC RECEIPT AND EXPENSE MANAGEMENT

A significant objective of this RFP is to transition the City's credit card program from a paper-based process to an electronic expense management system.

The City desires the ability for cardholders to:

1. Log into an online system;

2. View individual transactions;

3. Upload receipts electronically;

4. Attach receipts directly to transactions;

5. Enter descriptions or business purposes;

6. Select the appropriate City department;

7. Apply appropriate accounting codes;

8. Submit transactions electronically for review/approval; and

9. Maintain an electronic audit trail.

The proposer shall explain how its system accomplishes these functions.

10. DEPARTMENTAL CODING AND OPENGOV INTEGRATION

The City desires to improve the process by which credit card expenditures are assigned to the appropriate department and budget.

The proposed system should allow users to select appropriate departmental coding at the time the transaction is reconciled.

The City is particularly interested in the ability to integrate or otherwise interface the credit card system with OpenGov, allowing information to move more efficiently into the City's financial management and budgeting processes.

The City desires the ability to:

• Assign transactions to departments;

• Assign appropriate funding/account codes;

• Associate transactions with applicable budgets;

• Reduce manual data entry;

• Reduce coding errors;

• Facilitate reconciliation;

• Import transaction data into OpenGov;

• Maintain appropriate documentation; and

• Improve budget tracking.

Proposers shall describe any existing OpenGov integration, interface, export, or data exchange capabilities.

11. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The selected financial institution shall provide comprehensive reporting capabilities.

At a minimum, the City desires the ability to generate and/or download:

• Individual transaction reports;

• Departmental reports;

• Cardholder reports;

• Monthly statements;

• Rebate reports;

• Spending summaries;

• Merchant reports;

• Category reports;

• Travel reports;

• Outstanding receipt reports;

• Exception reports; and

• Audit reports.

The system should allow reports to be downloaded electronically.

Preferred file formats:

• CSV

• PDF

The proposer shall identify all available file formats and explain which formats can be imported into OpenGov.

12. TRAVEL MANAGEMENT AND AUTHORIZATION

The City anticipates eventually utilizing the selected institution's travel management and authorization capabilities.

The City's long-term objective is to reduce or eliminate the need for paper-based signatures associated with travel authorization and related documentation.

The City desires an electronic process allowing employees to:

• Request travel;

• Obtain electronic authorization;

• Document travel expenses;

• Upload supporting documentation;

• Obtain appropriate approvals;

• Maintain an electronic record;

• Reduce processing time; and

• Improve administrative efficiency.

Proposers shall describe their available travel management functionality and identify whether it is included in the proposed program or available as an additional service.

13. IMPLEMENTATION AND TRAINING

The City considers implementation support to be a critical component of the proposed program.

The selected institution shall provide an implementation plan that includes:

• Account setup;

• Card issuance;

• User setup;

• Administrative setup;

• System configuration;

• Departmental configuration;

• Coding configuration;

• Data conversion, if applicable;

• Training;

• Testing;

• Go-live support; and

• Post-implementation support.

Training The City anticipates that primary system training may be conducted online. However, the City desires in-person support from a representative of the selected financial institution during implementation to assist City employees and administrators with questions, system setup, and transition issues.

Proposers shall identify:

• Training format;

• Number of training sessions;

• Online training availability;

• In-person training availability;

• Implementation representative;

• Post-implementation support; and

• Ongoing training availability.

14. CUSTOMER SERVICE AND LOCAL SUPPORT

The proposer shall describe its customer service structure.

Responses should include:

• Dedicated municipal support;

• Commercial card support;

• Technical support;

• Fraud support;

• Emergency card support;

• Lost/stolen card procedures;

• Dispute resolution;

• Average response time;

• Escalation procedures; and

• Local or regional representative availability.

The City strongly values a banking relationship that provides responsive service and knowledgeable representatives who understand municipal operations.

15. SECURITY, FRAUD PREVENTION AND INTERNAL CONTROLS

The proposer shall describe all available security and fraud prevention features, including:

• Real-time transaction monitoring;

• Fraud alerts;

• Card lock/unlock capabilities;

• Merchant category restrictions;

• Geographic restrictions;

• Transaction limits;

• Employee-specific controls;

• Departmental controls;

• Duplicate transaction detection;

• Dispute management;

• Lost/stolen card procedures;

• Online administrative controls;

• Audit trails;

• User access controls;

• Multi-factor authentication;

• Data security; and

• Data retention.

The proposer shall identify any additional security features specifically designed for governmental or municipal customers.

16. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

Each proposal should include:

A. Financial Institution Information – legal name, address, primary contact, years in business, governmental banking experience, and number of municipal/government clients.

B. Program Description – detailed description of the proposed commercial card program.

C. Financial Proposal – rebate rates, fees, credit terms, and all other financial considerations.

D. Technology – online platform and available integrations.

E. Reporting – available reports and export formats.

F. Implementation – implementation timeline.

G. Training – training and support.

H. Security – fraud prevention and security controls.

I. References – at least three governmental or municipal references, if available.

J. Exceptions – clearly identify any exceptions to the City's requested terms.

17. PRICING AND FINANCIAL RESPONSE FORM

Proposers shall complete the financial response table included in Form F below.

18. EVALUATION CRITERIA

The City intends to evaluate proposals based upon the best overall value to the City, rather than solely upon the rebate percentage.

Proposals may be evaluated using:

1. Financial benefit;

2. Rebate structure;

3. Fees;

4. Credit capacity;

5. Technology;

6. Expense management;

7. OpenGov integration;

8. Reporting capabilities;

9. Travel management;

10. Security and fraud prevention;

11. Implementation and training;

12. Customer service;

13. Governmental/municipal experience;

14. References; and

15. Overall value to the City.

19. EVALUATION SCORING MATRIX

The proposed evaluation scoring matrix is provided below and may be modified as necessary to comply with applicable municipal procurement requirements.

20. CONTRACT TERMS

As part of its proposal, each Proposer shall submit a complete draft of its proposed contract or agreement for the City's review and consideration. The proposed contract shall include all terms and conditions applicable to the program and the services contemplated under this RFP, including, but not limited to, pricing and fees, account administration, payment terms, credit limits, reporting, security and fraud protection, liability provisions, termination provisions, and any other applicable terms.

The City's review of the proposed contract shall not constitute acceptance of any of its terms or conditions. The City reserves the right to negotiate, modify, reject, or require revisions to any provision of the proposed contract as part of the City's evaluation and contract award process.

21. GENERAL CONDITIONS

The City reserves the right to:

• Reject any or all proposals;

• Accept a proposal in whole or in part;

• Request additional information;

• Request clarification;

• Conduct interviews or presentations;

• Negotiate with proposers;

• Waive minor informalities;

• Modify the RFP;

• Cancel the RFP;

• Reissue the RFP; and

• Select the proposal determined to be in the City's best interest.

All costs associated with preparing and submitting a proposal shall be the responsibility of the proposer.

The City makes no guarantee regarding the volume of transactions, expenditures, deposits, or other services that may be provided under any resulting agreement.

22. REQUIRED CERTIFICATIONS

The proposer shall certify that:

• The information contained in the proposal is accurate;

• The proposer has reviewed the RFP requirements;

• The proposer agrees to comply with applicable laws;

• The proposer has disclosed all material fees;

• The proposer has disclosed all exceptions to the RFP;

• The proposer is authorized to conduct business in Alabama

PRICING AND FINANCIAL RESPONSE FORM

Category Proposer Response Initial credit limit Ability to increase credit limit Standard rebate Rebate payment Annual program fee Cardholder fee Transaction fee Travel fee Foreign transaction fee Other fees Annual rebate cap Monthly rebate cap

TECHNOLOGY RESPONSE FORM

Capability Available? Description Online account management ☐ Yes ☐ No Receipt upload ☐ Yes ☐ No Electronic approvals ☐ Yes ☐ No Department coding ☐ Yes ☐ No Budget coding ☐ Yes ☐ No OpenGov integration ☐ Yes ☐ No CSV export ☐ Yes ☐ No PDF export ☐ Yes ☐ No Travel authorization ☐ Yes ☐ No Travel management ☐ Yes ☐ No Fraud alerts ☐ Yes ☐ No Card controls ☐ Yes ☐ No Real-time transaction monitoring ☐ Yes ☐ No

IMPLEMENTATION & TRAINING FORM

Estimated implementation period: _____________________

Online training provided: ☐ Yes ☐ No

In-person training provided: ☐ Yes ☐ No

In-person implementation support: ☐ Yes ☐ No

Dedicated implementation representative: ☐ Yes ☐ No

Ongoing support: ☐ Yes ☐ No

Describe implementation process:

REFERENCES FORM

Reference #1 Organization: _____________________________________

Contact: __________________________________________

Telephone: ________________________________________

Email: ____________________________________________

Services Provided: _________________________________

Reference #2 Organization: _____________________________________

Contact: __________________________________________

Telephone: ________________________________________

Email: ____________________________________________

Services Provided: _________________________________

Reference #3 Organization: _____________________________________

Contact: __________________________________________

Telephone: ________________________________________

Email: ____________________________________________

Services Provided: _________________________________

FORM J – PROPOSER CERTIFICATION

Authorized Representative: __________________________________________

Title: _____________________________________________________________

Financial Institution: ______________________________________________

Signature: ________________________________________________________

Date: _____________________________________________________________

EVALUATION SCORING MATRIX

Evaluation Category Points Rebate/Financial Benefit 25 Fees and Overall Cost 10 Credit Capacity & Large-Purchase Capability 10 Technology & Expense Management 15 OpenGov/Data Integration & Reporting 10 Travel Authorization & Management 5 Fraud Prevention & Security 10 Implementation & Training 5 Customer Service & Local Support 5 Governmental Experience & References 5

TOTAL 100

COUNCIL CONSIDERATION

Following completion of the competitive procurement process, City staff will evaluate the proposals received and present a recommendation to the Orange Beach City Council. Award to be made on October 6, 2026 at City of Orange Beach City Council Meeting.

In evaluating the proposals, the City will consider not only the direct financial rebate but also the total operational and administrative benefit of the proposed program.

The City's desired future state is a commercial credit card program that provides a stronger financial return while simultaneously creating a more efficient, electronic, accountable, and integrated purchasing and expense management process for the City of Orange Beach.