Benefit Banking RFP Questions and Answers 7-3-2024.docx

BENEFIT BANKING RFP VENDOR QUESTIONS

Attachment D provides counts of monthly ACH refunds.

The lockbox handles approximately 2,270 items per month valued at approximately $500,000.

On the Terms and Conditions Tab Select “Yes”, “No”, or “Yes with Exceptions” Note: If taking any exceptions to Standard Terms and Conditions an offeror must upload a redlined version of the Standard Terms and Conditions with their proposal on the attachment tab.

If Offeror requests confidential treatment, Offeror must submit additional copy/copies (see Instructions for Submission of Offers in Section C.) of the Offer with proposed confidential information redacted. This redacted copy must tell the general nature of the material removed and shall retain as much of the Offer as possible. In a separate attachment, Offeror shall supply a listing of the provisions identified by section number for which it seeks confidential treatment and identify the statutory basis or bases under Illinois law, including a detailed justification for exempting the information from public disclosure.

The redacted copies should be uploaded in the attachment section of the RFP.

The current credit card merchant processors are Paymentus and Chase.

We offer image-based lockbox services where checks and remittance materials are imaged and delivered to you? What type of image delivery best suits your needs:

a) Internet-based browser application with online retention of:

i. 90 days (default)?

ii. 2 years?

iii. 7 years?

iv. 10 years?

b) Periodic CD/DVD:

i. Monthly (default)?

ii. Weekly?

iii. Daily?

c) Daily transmission of indexed images to be imported into your in-house image database?

i. Single TIFF (each image is a separate .tif file)?

ii. Multi-TIFF (each transaction is a single .tif file containing multiple images)?

You may elect more than one delivery method (e.g., browser with monthly CDs; browser and daily transmission). Your selection may vary by lockbox.

Section F.1.61 of the RFP requires secure online access to the client service portal for IDES staff. Section F.1.62 specifies that information must be retrievable by IDES staff online for seven (7) years. Section F.1.64 requires images and other data required by the lockbox requirements to be accessible to IDES staff via the Client Services Portal. Based on the delivery options in the question, internet-based browser application with online retention of 7 years seems most consistent with these requirements.

Do you receive into your lockboxes checks drawn on Canadian banks? If “yes”:

a) What is the average monthly volume?

b) How would you like Canadian checks processed?

i. If in Canadian dollars:

a. Do not process; forward original check and accompanying documents to you?

b. Convert to U.S. dollars and deposit for converted amount?

c. Send to International Banking for deposit to Canadian account?

ii. If in U.S. dollars:

a. Process check?

Do not process; forward original check and accompanying documents to you?

No, IDES does not receive checks drawn on Canadian Banks.

Do you receive into your lockboxes checks drawn on non-Canadian foreign banks? If “yes”:

a) What is the average monthly volume?

b) How would you like foreign items handled?

i. Send to International Banking for collection?

ii. Do not process; forward original check and accompanying documents to you?

No, IDES does not receive checks drawn on non-Canadian foreign banks.

For payments received without your desired data capture fields, we offer several exception handling options:

· Payment Lookup – You provide to us an inbound file of your customer data; when we encounter a payment with missing information, we try to identify the customer within your data set and locate the missing information.

· Web Decisioning – We present images of incomplete items to you for review; you can provide missing information and release the item back into the deposit processing flow.

Are both or either of these services are of interest to you? If “yes”, we would like to have further discussions to understand your needs and identify the best solution for you.

IDES will accept any options that comply with the requirements of Section F.1.23 of the RFP. Section F.1.64 requires images and other data required by the lockbox requirements to be accessible to IDES staff via the Client Services Portal. Attachment F specifies the files currently exchanged between IDES and Vendor. Offeror may specify multiple options available to satisfy requirements within its proposal.

For any lockbox items being physically forwarded to you, how are they to be shipped:

a) U.S. Mail?

b) Courier (local or national)? When a courier is used, we require that you provide us with our account number with the chosen courier so that transportation fees are charged directly to you.

Note that if we are shipping items to you that contain healthcare or credit card payment information, they must be shipped via traceable mail.

Section F.1.24 of the RFP indicates that such items will be transmitted “in accordance with timeframes and delivery methods established by Vendor and approved by Agency”. Vendor is responsible for any related delivery charges. It is likely that credit card payment information may be included within some of these items. It is unlikely but possible that healthcare information may also be included, particularly for non-IDES intended correspondence sent to the wrong location.

How would you like out of balance multiples (amounts to be applied to each coupon do not sum to the total check amount) handled?

a) Forward to you unprocessed?

b) Present to you via Web Decision application for you to allocate the check amount to the existing remittance coupons?

In this scenario, Vendor may process the deposit as normal in accordance with Section F.1.22 of the RFP (and IDES will deal with over/under payment on the back end), or Vendor may process it as an exception in accordance with Section F.1.23, or some combination of both based on details mutually agreed upon by the Vendor and IDES.

Its most recent audited financial statements, or a Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) 10-k annual report in lieu of an audited financial statement. Documentation should include the ability of the institution to meet its long-term debts and other obligations, debt ratio, total liabilities divided by total assets, a determination of the solvency of the bank, and other documentation as applicable

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Can you please provide a breakdown of the account structure and activity flow in each account?

What are the average account balances in each account?

Section F.1.1 requires two accounts for IDES. The Depository account for receipt of lockbox transactions will be a zero-balance deposit account which all lockbox transactions will be run through. The ending daily balance of this account will be transferred to the Transactions account. The Transactions account will be the clearing account for all benefit payments and refunds issued and where incoming funds from federal funding will be deposited, as well as the other receipts and other payments described in sections F.1.29 through F.1.34. The average balance in this account can range from $2 million to $30 million at any given point in time. The average account balance is not available but is expected to be significantly lower than previous years due to the CMIA change described in Section A.4.2 of the RFP.

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