RFP 2032H8-22-R-00002 QandA.pdf

e-Payment Services Q&A’s

Section Question Response 1 Instructions, Pg.

The page limit for the Technical Approach is 10 pages. PROPOSAL INSTRUCTION Section 3.0 (page 94) states:

“All tasks and requirements described in the Performance Work Statement must be addressed. Note – merely restating the deliverables or requirements or saying that a vendor will comply with the terms of the solicitation will be deemed insufficient to demonstrate that the vendor has a reasonable understanding of the requirement or that the vendor will be able to perform the tasks of the PWS. ”

The PWS is 31 pages. Will IRS increase the Technical Approach page limit to 40 pages so our understanding and approach can be demonstrated?

The Technical Approach page limitation will be increased from 10 to 15 pages via Amendment #0002.

2 General Can you share who is the current incumbent? The current incumbents are:

1) Link2Gov Corporation (2032H5-21-C-00012); 2) ACI Payments (2032H5-21-C-00013); and 3) World Pay (2032H5-21-C-00014).

3 General Can the solicitation offer due date be extended a few weeks from May 10 to perhaps May 27?

The solicitation was extended thru May 17, 2022, 5:00PM EST via Amendment #0001.

4 General Does the IRS accept 1040 payments from taxpayers at their regional offices?

Yes.

5 General

On what type of mobile devices does the IRS expect to use the proposed payment card application? Will a separate mobile POS device be acceptable? Does the IRS desire agent-specific functionality, or simply access to the web portal?

IRS employees have iOS mobile devices, however an IRS authorized device can also be ‘Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) so the application needs to work on both Android and iOS. A separate mobile POS device would not be acceptable. The IRS desires agent specific functionality.

6 PWS, C.6.23.1 Deliverable C.6.23.1 references a "Section H.4." Can this be confirmed as referring to the section labeled "REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973, SECTION 508 IT ACCESSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS (SECTION 508)" on page 22 of the main Solicitation document?

Yes, that is correct.

7 General

Will the evaluation team accept appendices for additional detail, tables, screenshots, diagrams, and/or other relevant material?

All appendices for additional detail must be included within the given page limitation and according to the format requirements.

8 General For an existing vendor, will the IRS accept an IRS contact as a Corporate Experience / Past Performance reference?

IRS past performance will be accepted. Corporate Experience is not an evaluation factor.

9 General Can CPARS Past Performance Information be included as supplemental to a current vendor's Corporate Experience?

Corporate experience is not an evaluation factor.

CPARS may be accessed in the evaluation of Past Performance.

10 General

How does the evaluation team intend to validate the current efficacy of a proposed system (i.e. is the IRS expecting to receive proposals for non-developed systems, or is the expectation that the system is live and working today?)

The vendor shall substantiate details, within their proposal, to prove their system capabilities. The Government will validate the efficacy of the proposed system during the transition-in phase of testing.

11 Solicitation, Section 2.13

Given that the objective described in Section 2.13 of the main Solicitation states "[t]he IRS is looking for the best solutions for making electronic payment options the preferred method for paying taxes", that "[t]he IRS is seeking contractor(s) who can identify and provide approaches to move balance due return payments, estimated tax payments, installment payments and other tax forms with related payments to electronic transactions," and that "[t]he government is looking to minimize cost to the taxpayer," will the IRS consider and accept a pricing proposal as responsive, and not an exception or deviation, if it provides separate pricing for widely utilized alternative electronic payment methods, distinct from cash and traditional credit cards or debit cards, which can further minimize cost to the taxpayer? If so, how will those be evaluated?

The requirement has already been defined within the Performance Work Statement. We will not accept any deviations from the stated requirement.

12 Section IV – Proposal Instructions (pg.

94-95)

Per the Instructions, the bidder is limited to 10 pages for the Management Approach and the Quality Control Plan is limited to 5 pages. Please confirm: are the 5 pages for the Quality Control Plan in addition to the 10 pages for the Management Approach, or are they to be included in the 10 pages?

The 10-page limitation for the Management Approach volume includes the 5 page minimum allotted for the Quality Control Plan.

13 Section III, Treasury/IRS Policies for

Compliance with IRM 10.8.x is required, but much of the public version of IRM 10.8 is redacted. While Publication 4812 can substitute for IRM 10.8.1 (p 35, 90), there is not a suitable substitute for IRM

Bidders will be able to get access to relevant sections of the IRM upon award.

Information Technology (IT) Security clause,

pg. 33

10.8.24 (Cloud Computing Security Policy) or some other relevant sections of IRM 10.8. Can bidders get access to unredacted copies of the relevant sections of IRM 10.8 or will we be able to get access upon award?

14 Section III, Information Security/Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) clause, pg. 32

Can the IRS provide a list of Cloud Service Providers who currently have an Authorization to Operate from the IRS and/or Department of the Treasury?

IRS e-Pay’ contractor is allowed to pick from any cloud service providers. The contractor will just have to make sure that the cloud service providers can be compliant with Pub 4812. Here is the updated link for Pub 4812:

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p4812.pdf

15 PWS, C.2.14 Would the contract require us to have processing in a separate room? C.2.14 references system environment not a physical environment.

16 PWS, C.2.14 Any particular privacy features within separate rooms required? C.2.14 references system environment not a physical environment.

17 PWS, C.1.5 Is a separate platform for processing required. The government is not clear as to the type of platform the vendor is referring to. Therefore, we cannot provide an accurate response.

18 PWS, C.1.5 Are there required clearances needed to process payments? See Page 44 of solicitation “SAFEGUARDING /

PROTECTING SENSITIVE PERSONNALLY

IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION (PII)”.

19 PWS, C.1.3 With the ACI acquisition of OPC, has the IRS adopted any of the OPC payment platform metrics or has all the payment processing platform from OPC been fully migrated to ACI?

The government does not have that information therefore cannot provide a response.

20 PWS, C.1.4 Can the IRS provide an example of the existing payment processing metric worksheets?

No

21 PWS, C.1.3 Is a Chatbot required? No 22 Section II, Overview Can the IRS elaborate regarding to their intentions to select vendors under this solicitation? Will the IRS be adding vendors or reducing the number of vendors?

As stated at Section V, Evaluation Methods (pg.

99), the Government intends to award two contracts, reducing from the current number of incumbents.

23 Section II, Overview

Are there any pain points or concerns on the current contract that the IRS would like resolved through issuing this new solicitation?

Not at liberty to provide the requested information.

24 Section II, Overview

Is the IRS happy with the performance of their current vendors for e-payment services?

Not at liberty to provide the requested information.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p4812.pdf

25 Section II, Overview

Are there services the IRS’s current vendors do not provide under the current contract that would be advantageous to the IRS under this new solicitation?

The Government has clearly defined the need within the PWS.

26 Solicitation – Factor 4: Price

Please provide any monthly or annual fees you currently pay to any of your existing payment processors.

Please refer to PWS Section C.4.5

27 Subcontracting Percentages, Attachment 4

Are the IRS minimum stated subcontracting percentages, for overall small business and each subcategory, required for an “Acceptable Rating” to be granted on Attachment 4?

The vendor must provide a clear plan that reflects a good faith effort to achieve the stated goals in order to receive an Acceptable rating.

28 General, Solicitation – Section 2.2

Why is the IRS going out to bid at this time? This requirement is being solicited at this time to ensure the IRS has sufficient time to make an award as well as ensuring vendors have the appropriate amount of time for the transition-in phase.

29 General, Solicitation – Section 2.2

When does the current contract end? The current contract expires 6/11/2022.

30 Format, Section

IV

If the bidder were to submit a cover/transmittal letter as part of their proposal response, would it be excluded from the page limit?

A cover page is included within the page count.

(See Section IV, pg. 94)

31 General, Solicitation Section 2.2

If a payment processor bidding on this opportunity is partnered with a merchant acquirer, is the merchant acquirer considered a subcontractor?

It appears this is a teaming arrangement instead of a subcontractor. If this is the case, they are not a subcontractor.

32 PWS, C.2.12.7 Is there an expectation that ACH payments will be facilitated through the vendors’ systems on 1/1/24 or will ACH payments be phased in at a time subsequent to the initial launch?

The expectation is that the vendor’s system should be ready to accept all payments by 1/1/24.

33 General For credit card payments, what is the average payment amount or the total number of transactions for each year? Do credit card volume numbers include PayPal payments?

The average credit card payment for 2021 was approximately $2,199.00. In reference to C.1.4, the credit figures do contain PayPal payments.

34 General For debit card payments, what is the average payment amount or the total dollar volume of payment for each year?

The average Debit card payment for 2021 was approximately $700.00.

35 General For cash payments, what is the average payment amount or the total dollar volume of payment for each year?

The average cash payment for 2021 was approximately $315.00.

36 General Is a cash payment option a mandatory component of this RFP? Yes

37 General Is it a requirement to offer Star, Pulse, and NYCE online? The PWS does not require specific payment networks.

38 General Which entity or entities currently comprise the Treasury Financial Agent (TFA)?

The current TFA is Bank of America.

39 General Does "settle funds through the Treasury Financial Agent (TFA)" mean that the TFA is acting as the merchant acquirer / settlement agent, or that the TFA is the receiving bank?

TFA is the receiving bank.

40 PWS, C.6.5;

C.2.25

How are erroneous taxpayer identification number (SSN/EIN) or erroneous tax year/tax period identified? Are these transactions requiring a correction identified by IRS staff, with adjustments made in contractor's system and shown in the exceptions report described in deliverable C.6.5 / requirement C.2.25?

IRS staff will identify erroneous payments and request additional information from the IRS credit card processor to make the corrections, only, within the IRS system, 41 PWS, C.2.12.4

Requirement C.2.12.4 states that "The contractor shall provide only guaranteed payments to the government for federal taxes owed." Please define "guaranteed payments" and describe the expected process for handling credit card chargebacks.

Card processors (contractor) should authorize the card transactions for the full amount of the payment to confirm that funds will be available to make the payment.

Refer to PWS Section C.4.6 for additional details and references to the chargeback process.

42 PWS, C.2.12.7

Please explain what is meant in C.2.12.7 by "The contractor shall convert payment transactions to Automated Clearing House (ACH) debit authorizations."

The card processors (contractor) would need to convert all of the card payments to an ACH debit transaction to the Treasury.

43 General Is it in scope for this project for contractor to collect ACH debit authorizations from consumers and process ACH debit payments?

The contractor shall only process payments once authorized by the taxpayer/consumer.

44 PWS, C.2.12.9 Does "entity validation", referred to in C.2.12.9, mean validating that a name matches a TIN / EIN?

Yes, that is correct.

45 General

Please provide the CCBP Requirements approved by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service.

May be provided upon request to the Annette Jones, Contract Specialist at (Annette.E.Jones@irs.gov) and signature of a Non- Disclosure Agreement.

46 PWS, C.2.12.3

C.2.12.3 states that "All funds must settle within 24 to 48 hours." Is this time period measured from the date/time of the payment to the date/time of the funds being available for immediate withdrawal? From the date/time of the batch close to the date/time that the ACH file is transmitted?

The 24-48 hours period would begin with the date that the payment is authorized. The processor (contractor) would need to submit the ACH file in time for the funds to settle in the Treasury account within 24-48 hours of the payment date.

mailto:Annette.E.Jones@irs.gov

47 PWS, C.2.12.3 C.2.12.3 states that "All funds must settle within 24 to 48 hours." Would an exception be allowed for American Express, for which funds are typically available three days following the transaction date?

No exceptions to this requirement.

48 PWS, C.2.22

The RFP states that the contractor shall provide a payment card application to be available on IRS mobile devices only to be used by IRS authorized personnel (e.g., Revenue Officer) during their field visit to individuals/business taxpayers. Would a mobile-responsive site be sufficient in place of a downloaded application?

A mobile responsive site would be sufficient if it satisfies IRS PGLD & IRS Cyber requirements for IRS issued devices to be able to connect to it.

However, IRS Employees must be able to make credit/debit card payments on behalf of taxpayers via their IRS issued mobile device with or without a connection and this may only be achieved through a mobile application.

49 Section V, Evaluation Methods (pg.

102)

The Government states “If there are any ancillary fees associated with pricing, such as Digital Wallets (e.g., PayPal), no evaluation for Digital wallets will be considered in pricing factors.” Can the Government clarify if it expects the convenience fee for digital wallets to be the same as the credit card convenience fee or does it expect there is no convenience fee to pay with a digital wallet?

As stated, Digital wallets will not be considered in the pricing factors Therefore, it is up to the vendor to determine how they will account for options proposed.

50 PWS, C.2.3.3 For Section C.2.3.3, can the Government provide any documentation or specifications for the IRS Application Programming Interface (API) technology?

The government is currently working to develop the specific API requirements however per C.2.3.3 it is expected the vendor’s system be API ready.

51 General What is the current number of chargebacks annually from 2017- 2021?

This information can be provided upon award.

52 General What is the current cost of chargebacks?

There is no cost associated with chargeback other than the labor hours used to process the chargebacks.

53 Factor 5: Small Business Participation

In Factor 5: Small Business Participation Plan, are the percentages listed the overall targets for each small business participation or are these incentives that will improve the scoring by that percentage (i.e. a Proposal ranked 100 would have a score of 110 with a small disadvantaged business as a subcontractor)?

The percentages are target goals for each socio-economic category. As specified within the solicitation, the non-priced factors will receive an adjectival rating, not scoring.

54 General What is the average transaction value for credit cards?

See response at question #33 55 General What is the average transaction value for debit cards?

See response at question #34

56 General What is the average transaction value of cash payments?

See response at question #35

57 General Please provide the transaction volume by method of payment (e.g.

Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover).

Additional payment statistics can be provided upon contract award.

58 Solicitation, Section 2.5, pg. 6

The RFP does not provide a Transition-in period between award and the start of the base period (January 1, 2024). During this time the Contractor will be developing the system and working with the IRS Program Office and Security. Will the Government add a Transition-in period from Award to 12/31/2023?

Refer to C. 1.6 The phase-in period is from March 1st through December 15th 2023, where the awardee shall be developing their system and follow the the activities displayed within the tables.

59 Solicitation, Section IV, 3.0 Proposal Volume Instructions, pg.

In order to demonstrate a detailed and thorough understanding of the requirements and fully describe our approach, will the Government allow for the Contractor to supplement our response with Appendices outside the page limits?

No

60 Solicitation, Section IV, 3.0 Proposal Volume Instructions, pg.94

The page limit for the Technical Approach is 10 pages. PROPOSAL INSTRUCTION Section 3.0 (page 94) states:

“All tasks and requirements described in the Performance Work Statement must be addressed. Note – merely restating the deliverables or requirements or saying that a vendor will comply with the terms of the solicitation will be deemed insufficient to demonstrate that the vendor has a reasonable understanding of the requirement or that the vendor will be able to perform the tasks of the PWS. ” The PWS is 31 pages. Will IRS increase the Technical Approach page limit to 40 pages so our understanding and approach can be demonstrated?

Technical Approach page limitation will be extended to 15 pages via Amendment #0002.

61 Solicitation, Section IV, 3.0 Proposal Volume Instructions 2.2 Format, pg. 93

The Government has asked for a Table of Contents for each Volume.

Please confirm the Table of Contents does not count towards the page limit.

The table of contents will not count toward the page limitation.

62 Solicitation, Section IV, 3.0 Proposal Volume Instructions, Management Approach, pg. 94

A thorough project schedule might be several pages long. Will the Government allow the Contractor to include the project schedule in an Appendix (outside the page limits)?

No, the page limitation for technical approach has been increased by 5 pages.

63 Solicitation, Section IV, 3.0

The instructions state that the QCP shall describe procedures to ensure quality at every stage and every task. In order to demonstrate

The Quality Control Plan is limited to 5 pages.

Proposal Volume Instructions, Quality Control Plan, pg. 95 a thorough understanding and approach, will the Government allow the Contractor to include a brief narrative within the 5 page limit and attach an annotated QASP as an appendix outside page limits? The QASP itself is 25 pages with Attachments.

64 Solicitation, Section IV, 3.0 Proposal Volume Instructions, Past Performance, pg.

Will the Government please confirm that the "Description of Service" section for each past performance can span multiple pages (instead of being a half page) to allow Contractor to show the relevance and complexity as it relates to the IRS requirements?

No, the description should be a brief description of the service provided.

65 PWS, Section C.7, pg. 26

Please confirm that the Government will have a kick-off meeting immediately after award?

The Government will send the meeting invites for the kickoff meeting after the award, within two weeks after award date.

66 PWS, Section C.7, pg. 27

Are deliverable dates in Chart C.7-0 tied to the award date or the IRS Interim Memo date?

The activities in the Chart C.7 are tied into the award date.

67 Solicitation, Section IV, 3.0 Proposal Volume Instructions, 2.2 Format, pg. 93

Instruction states Foldouts shall be no larger than 11”x17” in size.

Does a foldout represent 1 page?

Yes, the foldout will represent a page if it's included on a page and meets the required format.

68 Solicitation, Evaluation Methods, Section V, Factor 4 – Price, pg. 102

For evaluation purposes for base year, what volume should we use for credit, debit and cash payments?

Please see the Historical credit/debit payment data chart on page 3 of the PWS.

69 Solicitation, Evaluation Methods, Section V, Factor 4 – Price, pg. 102

For evaluation purposes for option year one, what volume should we use for credit, debit and cash payments?

Please see the Historical credit/debit payment data chart on page 3 of the PWS.

70 Solicitation, Evaluation Methods, Section V, Factor 4 – Price, pg. 102

For evaluation purposes for option year two, what volume should we use for credit, debit and cash payments?

Please see the Historical credit/debit payment data chart on page 3 of the PWS.

71 Solicitation, Evaluation

For evaluation purposes for option year three, what volume should we use for credit, debit and cash payments?

Please see the Historical credit/debit payment data chart on page 3 of the PWS.

Methods, Section V, Factor 4 – Price, pg. 102

72 Solicitation, Evaluation Methods, Section V, Factor 4 – Price, pg. 102

Will the IRS update Section 1.1 to include the estimates (credit card dollars, debit card transactions, cash transactions) to be used for credit, debit, and cash for each period of performance?

No, the Government cannot include projections

73 Solicitation, Clauses and Provisions, Section III, pg. 86

If contractor is proposing commercial license terms applicable to the payment processing platform system (as requested by Section C.10 on page 86 of the solicitation), should they be presented in the Price Proposal Fill-in Provisions or elsewhere in the response?

No. Any commercial licenses and terms received should be submitted separately and will be reviewed by our internal legal staff.

74 Solicitation, Evaluation Methods, Section V, Factor 6 – Completed Pricing Table, pg.

The RFP states "Refer to the Pricing Schedule for further instructions".

Can the Government provide these instructions? Will the Government provide an Excel spreadsheet so that all Offerors deliver the same price proposal and can be evaluated easily?

Section I, 1.1 and 1.2. contains the pricing schedule and additional instructions. However, Amendment #0002 contains the excel pricing schedule for the vendor to complete.

75 Solicitation, Proposal Instructions, Section V, pg.

51/92

Please confirm whether the Contractor should use FAR 52.212-1 or 52.215-1 for Instructions to Offerors.

The Contractor should use FAR 52.212-1