Response_to_Pre-Solicitation_Questions_final.xlsx

XLSX spreadsheet 22 KB Posted Sep 12, 2019

Attached to: IRS Electronic Payment Services Federal contract opportunity
Solicitation number: 2032H5-19-R-00005
Issued by: Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service

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File	Type	Posted
Solicitaton_No._2032H5-19-R-00005_SF33_-_Amendment_0001.pdf	PDF	Oct 24, 2019
Response_to_Solicitation_Questions_-_Amendment_0001.xlsx	XLSX spreadsheet	Oct 24, 2019
Solicitaton_No._2032H5-19-R-00005_SF30_-_Amendment_0001.pdf	PDF	Oct 24, 2019
Solicitation_No._2032H5-19-R-00005_-_Amendment_0001.doc	DOC document	Oct 24, 2019
Solicitaton_No._2032H5-19-R-00005_Attachment_B_-_SF_1019A.docx	DOCX document	Sep 24, 2019
Solicitation_No._2032H5-19-R-00005_Attachment_A_-_QASP.doc	DOC document	Sep 24, 2019
Solicitation_No._2032H5-19-R-00005.doc	DOC document	Sep 24, 2019
Solicitaton_No._2032H5-19-R-00005_SF33.pdf	PDF	Sep 24, 2019
IRS_Electronic_Payment_Services_pre-sol_no._2032H5-19-R-0005_-_amendment_letter.pdf	PDF	Sep 12, 2019
Draft_Solicitation_No._2032H5-19-R-00005.pdf	PDF	Jun 10, 2019
Draft_Attachment_A_-_QASP..pdf	PDF	Jun 10, 2019
Draft_Attachment_B_-_SF_1019A_-_Subcontracting_Plan_v10-18.pdf	PDF	Jun 10, 2019

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Sheet1

	Reference	Requirement	Question	Answer
	C.2.1.3	“The contractor’s electronic payment system shall allow connection with the IRS securely using Application Programming Interface (API) technology.	The CCBP documentation does not indicate any APIs, just batch file exchanges. Can the government please provide specifics on the IRS APIs that the solution will be interfacing with and the business purpose of those interfaces?	As a new functionality, the IRS is introducing API technology and therefore the specifics are not currently available. However, offerors should demonstrate API connection capability for the future implementation of this technology.
	C.2.16	The contractor shall submit payment data files in accordance with the CCBP requirements for transmitting payment data to the government’s TFA.	Can the government please provide us the full CCBP requirements document? The 2019 version posted on the IRS website only contains the first 5 pages and is missing the other 115+ pages with the actual requirements.	As stated in the pre-solicitation synopsis narrative, all referenced documents are available by written request.
	C.2.55	The contractor shall release the chargeback refund to the taxpayer once received from the IRS within 48 hours.	Please confirm the intent of this requirement, is it asking that the contractor makes a refund against a chargeback within 48 hours of being notified by the IRS to refund the chargeback?	No, after the IRS releases the fund to the processors.
	C.2.57	The contractor shall provide a payment card application to be available on IRS mobile devices only to be used by IRS authorized personal (e.g. Revenue Officer) during their field visit to individuals/business taxpayer.	What types of mobile devices are in use by IRS authorized personal? Do these devices have card swipe or EMV chip readers? Is this application required to be a native mobile application that is installed on authorized IRS devices?	This information is not available at this time and once available will be provided to the vendors.
	C.2.1.6	The contractor shall provide a mobile-friendly version of their website for tablets and Smartphone (e.g., Android, Apple, or other similar devices), with the capability to allow the taxpayer a “View Full Site” option.	Modern websites and web applications do not provide a mobile-specific user interface. Instead they provide a single user interface that uses responsive-design techniques and technologies to provide the optimal user experience for any type of device accessing the website. Regardless of whether a user is browsing from a desktop computer or a phone, full application functionality is provided to the user. Accordingly, there is no reason to provide a link to “View Full Site” since there is only one flexible interface for all users. Contractor recommends removing this requirement for a “View Full Site” capability or making it only required for payment applications that do not use mobile-first or responsive design.	The IRS requires the "view full site" capability in response to this requirement. However, during the performance of the contract, a requirement recommendation change for mobile-specific user interface may be considered during the annual review process.
	C.2.2	The contractor shall provide a system that allows a wide array of taxpayers’ (i.e. Domestic, international) access for making federal income and business tax payments. All Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and Internet applications are required to provide taxpayers with a unique toll-free number and web address (URL) for the completion of federal payments only.	Technology is evolving quickly and new channels of interaction such as smart agents are growing in popularity. The current Draft PWS requirements do not allow for any payment channels beyond web, phone, and cash. Recommend adding a requirement that permits additional value-added payment channels, such as smart agents, as long as these channels are approved by the IRS.	Offerors may propose value added payment channels in Phase II - Technical, System Functionality, and Usability. Additionally, during the performance of the contract, a recommendation for additional payment channels beyond web, phone, and cash may be considered during annual review process if applicable.
	L.1 (12)	Corporate Experience. Offerors shall submit at least three (3) references to demonstrate recent and relevant experience in performing task work they are seeking to fulfill under this acquisition. Recent is defined as any contract performed during the past five (5) years from date of issuance of this solicitation. Relevant corporate experience is considered to be federal, state, and local government or commercial contracts/work performed or being performed that were/are similar in size, scope, and complexity in nature to the current acquisition. The government shall make the determination as to the relevance of an offeror's corporate experience. Contracts listed may include those entered into by the federal government, agencies of state and local governments, foreign governments, and commercial customers. Corporate experience information on work for State and local governments, private sector clients, and subcontracts that is similar to the government requirement will be evaluated equally with similar federal contracts. Each offeror shall include the following information for each contract: (i) Name of Contracting Activity or Customer (ii) Contract Number or Other Identification Number (iii)Contract Type (iv) Total Contract Value or Volume (v) Description of Product (vi) Marketing Representative/Contracting Officer and Telephone Number (vii) Technical/Project Manager Point of Contact and Telephone Number Corporate Experience information may be gathered from references identified by the offeror.	To align with the government’s requirements of corporate experience being of similar size, scope, and complexity, and recommend the following: Offerors shall submit at least five (5) references that are no-cost in value to demonstrate significant and relevant experience. Define recency as any contract performed during the past three (3) years from the date of issuance of this solicitation.	The Government does not concur with the revision to the requisite language. Additionally, the dollar value and/or no-cost aspect should not restrict an offeror from submitting relevant experience of a similar size, scope, and complexity.
	General		The vendor companies selected for this procurement must be incorporated and headquartered in the U.S. and have filed a U.S. Federal tax return annually for at least the last ten years.	In accordance with IRSAP provision IR1052.209-9002, notice and consent to disclose and use of taxpayer return information (May 2018), all offerors must pass a tax check prior to receiving award.
	General		In alignment with the IRS Strategic Plan for 2018-2022, this project should include scope and requirements for an omnichannel voice of the taxpayer listening program that gathers and analyzes taxpayer feedback data and uses the insights derived to improve overall customer experience at IRS. Vendors should be required to demonstrate experience delivering similar solutions.	Offerors may propose solutions Phase II - Technical, System Functionality, and Usability. Additionally, during the performance of the contract, a recommendation for additional payment channels beyond web, phone, and cash may be considered during annual review process.
	General		The draft solicitation does not currently contain a meaningful limitation of liability for bidders. Would the government consider negotiating a limitation of liability with leading bidders upon award?	The IRS is willing to consider suggested language in response to the publication of these questions prior to the issuance of the solicitation. Therefore, vendors are invited to submit suggested language for limitation of liability. All submissions must be received within 24 hours of the posting of Amendment 001 - Q&A. Additionally, as a part of the proposal, offerors may submit exception to the terms and conditions of the solicitation. If an offeror takes exception to any of the terms and conditions of the solicitation the offeror must clearly state in their proposal any exceptions taken. Exceptions shall be stated in a cover letter conveying the proposal. Identify the term or condition, state the reasons for the exception, and provide any other information concerning the exception(s). Offerors are cautioned that their proposal may be determined unacceptable if the offeror takes exception to any term or condition. Omission of such a statement will be construed as the offeror's acceptance of all solicitation terms and conditions.
	I	FAR Clause 52.227-19	The draft solicitation incorporates by reference FAR 52.227-19, related to Commercial Computer Software Licenses delivered under the contract. Given that many bidders provide payment processing software services as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions, could the government clarify in the final solicitation that (A) that SaaS solutions related to payment processing activities provided under the agreement are exempted from the provisions of FAR 52.227-19, and (B) that payment processing platform software services will be made accessible to the government for the term of the agreement in accordance with vendor’s commercial license terms?	In response to the solicitation, offerors shall submit their commercial license terms for review and acceptance by the IRS. The Government does not concur that SaaS solutions related to payment processing activities should be exempted from the provisions of FAR 52.227-19.
		Subcontracting Plan	The Subcontracting goals on page 84 of the draft solicitation differ a bit from the Subcontracting goals on the first page of the Subcontracting Plan. Could the government please clarify?	IRS has set the following small business goals for this acquisition: SB concerns 33%; SDB concerns 3%; WOSB concerns 3%; SDVOSB concerns 5%; and HUBZone small business concerns 5%.
	B.2	Contract pricing	Please provide clarification as to what the zero CONVENIENCE FEE paragraph represents. Does this pertain to the fact that this is a zero-cost contract to the government? If not, please explain.	The text (e.g. $0.0000 and 0.0000%) is a place holder for formatting purposes only and will be updated at time of award with the fees as negotiated for the contract award.
	C.2	Business Requirements	Please distinguish between the requirements in Section C.2 that are mandatory day 1 vs. those that are desirable that may be added during the course of the 4-year contract as is appropriate.	All business requirements are required to be met at time of proposal submission except for C.2.1.3 for API technology and C.2.57 for mobile payment card applications.
	C.2.1.3	The contractor’s electronic payment system shall allow connection with the IRS securely using Application Programming Interface (API) technology.	Please provide specifics on what the IRS plans to offer. For example, are there plans to offer entity validation via API? What other API interfaces are of interest to the IRS?	The API specific requirements are being developed and will be provided to the contractors after award once available; however, vendors shall demonstrate the ability and/or capability to meet API technology compatibility/connectivity.
	C.2.6.2	The contractor shall enable the cash payments method system to have the capability to accept a range of taxpayer payments and not limit the payment transaction amount to $1,000.	Current cash solutions limit the payment transaction to $1000. Does the IRS intend to mandate this cash service or is this a consideration?	Yes, the IRS requires the contractor to provide cash payments method system services. However, the IRS will update the requirement to state contractors should not limit the payment transaction amount. It is the goal of the IRS to increase the use of the cash payments method systems services during the performance of the contract.
	C.2.19	The contractor shall submit daily, payment detail records or settlement files using the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) X12 Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) 813 transaction set. The TFA will initiate one bulk debit each business day from the contractor’s account, which must be established for this purpose (refer to CCBP requirements).	Currently this process runs only on federal business days (e.g., not on weekends or federal holidays). Is the intent of this requirement to change the current process?	It is the IRS's intent to not change the current process which runs only on federal business days.
	C.2.30	The contractor shall provide taxpayers live and automated customer service including frequently asked questions and problem resolution assistance. The contractor shall provide clear, concise messaging and consistent treatment. Live customer service assistance shall be available, at a minimum, Monday through Friday, 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, local time.	1. Is this time to be mandatory or are these hours discretionary by vendor?
2. What is considered to be local time?	Yes, the times are mandatory. The contractor shall provide the minimum live customer service assistance as provided in C.2.30. Local time is based upon processor call site location.
	C.2.44	The contractor shall implement systems controls that provide fraud detection and limit fraudulent payment transactions. The system shall have the capability to prevent transactions from certain cards or to certain accounts. The contractor shall incorporate best practices and industry standards. The contractor shall inform the COR of all incidents within 24 hours of occurrence or awareness and shall provide an incident report within 5 business days.	Please provide a list of specific system controls required. Is this a new requirement beyond the Address (zip) Verification and CVV for card payments currently provided?	A list of specific system controls is not available. The contractor is responsible for identifying and implementing system controls in order to meet the requirement for fraud detection and limiting fraudulent payment transactions based on best practices and industry standards.
	C.2.57	The contractor shall provide a payment card application to be available on IRS mobile devices only to be used by IRS authorized personal (e.g. Revenue Officer) during their field visit to individuals/business taxpayer.	1. Is this an optional service or a mandatory requirement for day 1 of the new contract?

2. Must it be a native mobile application or is a mobile-friendly web site that can be used on a mobile device acceptable?

3. Are there any requirements for specific mobile platforms (e.g., Android, iOS, iPadOS, etc.)?

4. How would the IRS Revenue Officers choose between the apps offered by all the service providers?

5. Can we also offer a mobile app directly to the taxpayers if the vendor desires to do so?	As a new functionality, the IRS is introducing a payment card application technology and therefore the specifics are not currently available. However, offerors should demonstrate solutions and capability for the future implementation of this technology.
	C.2.58	The contractor shall provide at the end of each calendar year quarter a transaction report showing the debit and credit card convenience fees collected for tax payments. The contractor shall provide four transactions reports annually. The report shall include the number of debit card payments received and the quarterly debit card convenience fee amount collected. The report will shall also include the number of credit card payments, the quarterly credit card convenience fee amount collected, and the average credit card convenience fee charged. The report shall be cumulative for each quarter and showing annual amounts. The transaction reports shall be delivered to the IRS on the 15th day of the month following the end of the calendar year quarter.	1. Is this a new report format requirement from what was provided in 2018?
2. Is there some flexibility with this report? For example, instead of requiring it on the 15th day of the month following the end of the calendar year quarter, could it be "before the end of the third week of the month following the end of the calendar year quarter?"	This is a new business requirement for reporting purposes. Yes, the Government has reviewed its requirements and accepts the recommended change to facilitate flexibility for reporting.
	C.6.3	The report shall contain the following information: 10. Customer service activity	Please provide additional information on this requirement to provide "customer service activity" information on the weekly and monthly reports. Is this a future requirement as the Filing Season 2019 IRS-provided template requirements do not include this?	The IRS has reviewed its requirements and based on the IRS reporting format, the customer service activity information is not required and has been removed from C.6.3.
	General		Where in the response should we propose value-added services such as the ability to process more tax forms, such as 2290, via integrated File and Pay partners?	Offerors may propose value added services in Phase II - Technical, System Functionality, and Usability. While offerors may propose additional value added services, it is up to IRS discretion on to whether or not to accept and/or implement these services during the performance of the contract.
	H		Is there a defined number of providers or will all “qualified vendors” be selected?	The Government intends to award at least one non-monetary, zero-dollar contract. As such, it is anticipated the Government will not award more than three contracts.
	C.2.3		The Government lists the funds should be settled through the TFA. Can the IRS indicate which TFA it uses?	Currently, the IRS uses Bank of America; however, this may change prior to award.
	C.1.1	During this period, the contractor shall adhere to C.2, Business Requirements for implementation. Only after the Annual Requirements Review Meeting (Kickoff) through June 30th of each year, may the contractor submit proposed changes. (Refer to the chart in Section C.7).	The Government indicated new requirements may only be added by the contractors after the Annual Requirements Review Meeting. Has the Government previously asked vendors outside of the Annual Requirements Review Meeting to add features? If so, can the Government clarify how it would account for that scenario?	Yes, the IRS has previous added features outside of the annual requirements review meeting via contract modifications. As such, the government works closely with the contractor on how to best implement that change as necessary.
	C.2.12		Can the Government clarify the type of “government banking regulations” it means? We assume these are Federal/Treasury regulations.	Yes, the government banking regulations refer to Federal and Treasury.
	C.6.26	Marketing Plan	Would the Government consider adding pre-approved marketing literature in its communications (bills, notices, etc.) to taxpayers informing them of this option?	As a part of the marketing plan (refer to in Section C.2.39), contractors may elect to provide pre-approved marketing literature in the Marketing plan for approval.
	G.3		There is language around a post award meeting. Can the Government let vendors know the location of this meeting (i.e. is it typically held in the Washington, DC area)?	The post award conference will likely be held in Laham, MD at the New Carrollton Federal Building (NCFB); however, as provided in the clause, the official meeting date, time, and location will be communicated to the successful offeror after award.
			Would the Government be open to and consider expanding this body of work over the term of the award to where it might further enrich the client experience?	Offerors may propose solutions in Phase II - Technical, System Functionality, and Usability. Additionally, during the performance of the contract, a recommendation may be considered during annual review process.
			Can the Government furnish a breakout of the number of transactions and payment volume amounts for its 3 current providers? a. PayUSAtax.com (WorldPay US, Inc.), b. Pay1040.com (Link2GovCorporation), and c. Official Payments	No, number of transactions and payments volume for its 3 providers is proprietary information and Treasury confidential.
	B.2	Contract Pricing:	Please clarify what is to be shown in the Extended Fee column	The government will use the credit and debit card estimates in section C.1.4, Table 1.4 to compute total debit and credit card extended fees. The extended fee totals will be used to derive at an overall total convenience fee cost for proposal evaluation.
	C.1.4	Background Data – Table 1.4:	Does the IRS anticipate that the current credit card and debit card convenience fee structure will continue? Should the new provider be prepared to provide any alternative fee structure?	The vendor may provide alternative fee structure for review.
	C.1.4	Background Data – Table 1.4	Is a breakdown of the volumes by the current providers available?	No, IRS Credit Card Reports containing volumes by the current providers are proprietary and Treasury Confidential
	C.2.2:		For International taxpayers, are currency fees expected to be paid by the taxpayer?	Yes, convenience fees are expected to be paid be the taxpayers (international & domestic), and payments will be posted to their account in the same time frame as a domestic payment.
			The contractor shall provide settled funds where the payment transaction date is less than 11 days prior to the settlement date (cards only). In the event that funds settlement is delayed beyond this period due to a reject condition, such as an invalid entity, the payment must be re-initiated, and the new payment date submitted for posting. Does the IRS expect the contractor to systematically re-initiate the payment, or the taxpayer entity?	IRS expect the contractor to re-initiate the payment if able to correct reject, otherwise, the taxpayer need to be informed by the contractor that payment was reject, determine why and re-initiate the payment
	C.2.50		Does the requirement that the contractor be limited to 100 contractors for the life of the contract represent prime contractor employees only, or does that also include subcontractors (including small business)?	The limit of 100 employees includes any contractor employee including all or any subcontractors that are subject to IRS background clearance process.
			Can the government provide an indication beyond 2021 of new and enhanced payment and filing programs intended?	No, the government cannot anticipate new and enhanced payments or filing programs for the future.
			Does the government anticipate the use of commercial best practices to be used in this government environment? What flexibility exists for new payment innovations and the fee models they will be based on?	Yes, the government anticipates the use of commercial best practices that best meet the government requirements. Any new payment innovations may be considered during annual review process if applicable.
			Is the use of secure cloud based solutions acceptable to the government?	Yes, the use of secure cloud based solutions are acceptable. IRS is not requiring the contractors to use the cloud computing services. It is up to the contractors if they choose to pursue cloud services. Although IRS will not be a sponsor nor an approving agent for the contractors; the contractor may enter into a commercial cloud servicing contract as needed and if the contractor decides to use cloud services for work related to the IRS contract then the contractor must ensure it is in lined with the federal standards.
			It would be helpful to potential respondents in evaluating how to deliver the lowest possible cost to taxpayers if the IRA could provide a breakdown in the usage of the 4 major card brands (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Amex), for a data set similar to that provided in Table 1.4. A breakdown of the two major debit card brands (Visa & MasterCard) would also be helpful, if possible.	IRS does not contract with the 4 major card brands to provide this information, instead contract is via card processor’s (service providers)
			In evaluating strategies for how to provide the lowest possible cost to taxpayers, any information the IRS can make available regarding how payment volume is split between the three current vendors, and how that volume has shifted over time would be appreciated. As a potential new respondent, the Team is interested in what the smaller market share of a vendor new to the list might look like.	No, volumes for current processors is proprietary and Treasury Confidential
	C.1.5	CREDIT CARD PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS	It is our understanding per prior experience servicing IRS contracts, that the positioning of vendors on the IRS website has an impact on their transaction throughput and customer opportunities. We would appreciate any commentary that the IRS is willing to provide on how the list will be ordered going forward. Any data that can be given on how list positioning impacts transaction expectations would be greatly appreciated.	The list will be ordered in accordance with the e-Payments internal Preferred Provider selection. The contractor’s URL will be displayed on IRS.gov in section Pay Taxes by Credit or Debit Card. The contractor shall be limited to one Uniform Resource Locator (URL) to collect and process payments which will be promoted in the e-pay service providers and fees list and integrated in the IRS e-file and e-pay list. The IRS reserves the right to promote the contractor(s) based on convenience fee, user experience, or other factors, or to pick a preferred provider each year and to utilize the preferred provider on IRS.gov and through the call centers.
	C.2.1.4	BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS - CAPTCHA	The Team requests flexibility regarding the implementation of CAPTCHA. While at times a necessary evil, we have observed large technology firms moving away from this approach in recent years. Our philosophy is that there are more elegant, less disruptive ways to perform the Turing test during web checkout. A recommendation on the language of this requirements could be that "...the vendor takes steps and utilizes best practices to ensure that only human users can successfully move through the online payment process."	The IRS requires the use of CAPTCHA in response to this requirement as a layer of security when a taxpayer enters their federal payment. However, offerors may propose additional security enhancements and/or changes in Phase II - Technical, System Functionality, and Usability. A CAPTCHA requirement recommendation change may be considered during annual review process.
	C.2.1.6	BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS – Mobile-Friendly Website	We request that the wording of this prompt be altered slightly to enable this approach, i.e. "The contractor shall ensure that the functionality of the site is available to users across any device, either through mobile dynamic presentation, or presentation of a "view full site" option.	Offerors may propose mobile dynamic presentations in Phase II - Technical, System Functionality, and Usability. Additionally, a wording change for mobile sites may be considered during annual review process during the performance of the contract.
	C.2.1.7	BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS – Mobile Payments Marketing Plan	We request to expand the wording of C.2.1.7 such that respondents can use technologies and strategies beyond "user agent" to supply the IRS's requested metrics.	Offerors may propose mobile dynamic presentations in Phase II - Technical, System Functionality, and Usability. Additionally, a wording change for mobile payments marketing plan may be considered during annual review process during the performance of the contract.

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