36-Group 2-Merchant Card Services, Evaluation Criteria, GEN2131264P1.pdf

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Group 2: Merchant Card Services

Submit responses to all Evaluation Criteria. Vendors who fail to submit the information and/or documentation required by any Evaluation Criteria by the solicitation’s closing date and time—excluding Reference Forms—may receive no points (if applicable) for the corresponding Evaluation Criteria.

Refer to Instructions to Vendors, Section K, for additional information. Vendors should structure proposal to align in the order of the Evaluation Criteria.

Evaluation Criteria

1. Ability of Professional Personnel Maximum Points

A. Describe the qualifications, including all relevant licenses and certifications, and the related experience of the Relationship Manager and all key personnel (Project Team) assigned to this engagement. Provide resumes for each Project Team member highlighting their experience and qualifications specific to delivering merchant card services.

B. Provide an organizational chart for the proposed Project Team, showing their roles and/or position titles, staff names, and lines of authority.

C. Include a concise overview of the Vendor’s organizational structure, the number of years the Vendor has provided merchant card services, and the primary markets served, with emphasis on experience supporting government or institutional clients. Indicate whether the Vendor is a direct processor or an ISO (Independent Sales Organization) and list all affiliations.

2. Project Approach Maximum Points

A. Provide Vendor’s approach, capability, and methodology to delivering the merchant card services outlined in the Scope of Services.

B. Provide a list of all card brands and card types that are not supported by Vendor’s merchant services platform.

C. Describe the Vendor’s debit card processing capabilities and identify the networks used to support both PIN-based and signature-based transactions.

D. Describe how Vendor handles retrieval and charge-back requests, including compliance timeframes, notification processes, and methods used to notify the County.

E. Explain Vendor’s process for transferring funds to the County and receiving discount fees calculated on gross sales. Identify the method used and daily cutoff times for transmissions.

F. Provide expected timing for receipt of funds from processed credit card transactions, frequency of discount fee charges, and circumstances under which next-day settlement would not be available.

G. Describe the Vendor’s dispute-resolution process and procedures for correcting duplicate transactions.

H. Explain the Vendor’s reporting process, including available customization options for reporting cycles.

I. Provide samples of customer account management reports and confirm available delivery methods and file formats.

J. Describe Vendor’s local back up and/or redundant systems for ensuring continuity of services, and Vendors cardholder breach notification procedures. Outline the expected recovery timeframe to resume operations following a catastrophic event.

K. Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS):

The County requires Vendor to be fully PCI compliant.

i. Provide Vendor’s PCI-DSS Attestation of Compliance and a copy of Vendor’s latest

PCI audit.

ii. Describe any additional services offered including PCI compliance training and risk management services to promote cyber security.

L. Fraud Mitigation:

i. Describe the Vendor’s strategies, policies, operational controls, and security protocols used to detect, prevent, and respond to fraudulent activity. Include detailed information on password encryption standards, authentication methods

(such as multi-factor authentication), and any additional protective technologies.

iii. Identify the roles and responsibilities of personnel involved in monitoring, escalating and resolving fraud risks; and describe communication procedures for notifying the County of suspicious activity.

ii. Provide Vendor’s fraud-prevention and fraud-resolution success rates. Describe how success rate is measured, including but not limited to, percentage of fraudulent attempts detected before loss, percentage of cases resolved within service-level goals, false-positive rates, and any performance benchmarks used.

iv. Outline compliance with applicable industry standards and regulatory requirements.

M. Transition/Implementation Plan:

Describe and provide vendor’s transition and implementation plan for the requested services, including:

i. A detailed timeline for full implementation, testing requirements, file specifications and integration strategy

ii. Vendor’s personnel responsible for leading implementation

iii. Strategy and timeline for integration with the County’s Enterprise Resource

Planning system (ERP), Peoplesoft

iv. Education and training for County staff on Vendor’s online platform

3. Functionality Checklist and Demonstration Maximum Points

A. Provide completed responses on Functionality Checklist (Excel), indicating whether the proposed solution provides the functionality as stated in the Scope of Services, and whether any customization or configuration is required.

B. Provide a Demonstration of the solution in accordance with the Demonstration Script.

Refer to Instructions to Vendors, Section N Demonstrations for additional information.

4. Past Performance Maximum Points

A. Describe Vendor’s experience in providing merchant card services to public entities of similar size to Broward County over the past five years.

B. Include the Project Team’s specific past experience(s) within the last five years in managing debit and credit card processing services and other related merchant services for County Managed Programs.

C. Provide Vendor’s annual credit card processing volume for the last five years and identify

Vendor’s relative ranking among large merchant banks.

D. Provide a minimum of three references for projects described. Refer to Vendor

Reference Verification Form and submit as instructed (with proposal) or within three business days after County’s request. Only provide references for non-Broward County

Board of County Commissioners’ contracts. For County contracts, the County will review performance evaluations database for previous or current contracts with the County.

The County considers references and performance evaluations in the evaluation of

Prime Vendor’s past performance.

5. Location Maximum Points

Refer to Location Certification and submit as instructed. Points shall be allocated as follows based on the Prime Vendor’s selection of one of the five options in the Location Certification

Form: Option 1 (0 points); Option 2 (5 points); Option 3 (3 points); Option 4 (points range from 0-5 depending on the composition of the joint venture); and Option 5 (0 points).

6. Pricing Maximum Points

Refer to Instructions to Vendors for additional instructions and the Pricing Worksheet in

BPRO to submit as instructed.

Total points awarded for price for the Five-Year Initial Term will be determined by applying the following formula: (Lowest proposed price/Proposer’s price) x 20 = Price Score

TOTAL POINTS 100

Form Date 9/23/25