Electronic Payment Services RFP 06.15.2026.pdf

ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SERVICES

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

CITY OF LAWRENCE, MASSACHUSETTS

RELEASE: MONDAY, JUNE 1, 2026 @ 9:00 AM

DUE BY: MONDAY, JUNE 15 2026 @ 11:00 AM

DELIVER TO:

City of Lawrence Office of the City Clerk

200 Common Street, Room 107 Lawrence, MA 01840

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RESPONDENT’S CHECKLIST

Please ensure all documents listed on this checklist are included, and/or acknowledged with your submission. Failure to do so may subject the proposer to disqualification.

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL ENVELOPE SHALL CONTAIN ONE (1) ORIGINAL AND

THREE (3) COPIES OFTHE FOLLOWING:

_____ Respondent’s Checklist (this form)

_____ Letter of Transmittal

_____ Project Narrative/Submission Requirements

_____ Certificate of Non Collusion

_____ Certificate of Tax Compliance

_____ Clerk Certificate

_____ W9 Form

_____ Acknowledgement of Addenda (submission of copy of addenda issued, if any)

COST PROPOSAL ENVELOPE SHALL CONTAIN 1 ORIGINAL ONLY THE

FOLLOWING:

_____ Cost Proposal (cost sheet included in bid)

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CITY OF LAWRENCE

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section Description

1. Introduction

2. General Instructions & Submission Requirements

3. Scope of Services

4. References

5. Cost Proposal Form

6. Minimum Evaluation Criteria

7. Comparative Evaluation Criteria

8. Required Contract Authorization Forms & W9 Form

9. Copy of City of Lawrence Standard Contract

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Section 1

INTRODUCTION

DECISION TO USE COMPETITVE SEALED PROPOSALS

Due to qualitative considerations needed to determine the best value for the provision of on-line and electronic bill pay processing services, the Chief Procurement Officer has, in accordance with M.G.L. c.30B, §6(a), determined that the City of Lawrence will be best served by utilizing a Request for Proposals (RFP) process. Such a process will enable the City to evaluate key factors such as vendor's history in providing similar systems and services to municipal customers, flexibility in transaction sites and number of products. Because the City seeks to use electronic payments systems for all types of payment transactions, it is important that the City have the ability to select the most advantageous proposal on the basis of experience, references, cost, equipment quality, and adherence to desired specifications.

PROJECT SCOPE

The City of Lawrence receives payments from various sources, both in the traditional form of checks or cash, as well as electronic payments via credit card or ACH transfer, as the payor may elect. Electronic payments include, without limitation, payments for various types of tax bills, utility bills, dog licenses, fishing licenses, athletic field permits as well as payments by private contractors for police details, activity fees, school athletic fees, parking meter charges, and library fines. The City wishes to expand its ability to accept electronic payments for all remittances. Such expansion would allow customers to initiate their payments to the City via the City website from any web connection whether at their home or office, or at City locations such as City Hall service windows. The City currently has 75,000+ residents and processes a large amount of financial transactions. Our goal is to, if possible, is to provide a cashless option for all city & school financial transactions.

It is intended that the services to be provided hereunder are for only as a convenience to persons making payments to the City, i.e., Payers shall have the option of making payments by means other than by on-line or electronic means. The City shall not be obligated to pay the vendor for the services described hereunder.

Section 2

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS AND CONDITIONS

1. Pursuant to M.G.L. Chapter 30B, the City of Lawrence seeks proposals from qualified bidders interested in providing online bill pay and credit card processing services. The contract term shall be for three years. Separately sealed price and non-price (technical) proposals are due on or before 11:00 a.m. on Monday, June 15, 2026 at the Office of the City Clerk. Late proposals will not be considered.

2. The Chief Procurement Officer, after a recommendation from the evaluation committee and consultation with the Mayor, will make an award of contract taking into consideration price and services to be provided to the City. An award of contract will be made within thirty (30)

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days after the proposal submission date or as soon as practicable thereafter. The time for award may be extended for up to thirty (30) days by mutual agreement.

3. If any changes are made to this RFP, an addendum will be issued. Addenda will be emailed or mailed to all proposers on record as having received the RFP package. If the City issues any addenda to this RFP, each proposer shall acknowledge on the Price Proposal Form the receipt of each addendum by addendum number.

4. Questions concerning this RFP must be submitted in writing to Rosanna Delrosario, Purchasing Agent, before 11:00am on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. Questions may be mailed, delivered, or emailed to rdelrosario@cityoflawrence.com. Written responses will be emailed to all proposers on record as having received the RFP package. Bidders should note that oral communications are not binding on the City. Questions received after the due date will not be responded to unless the City determines it is necessary. The City of Lawrence has identified a sole point of contact with bidders for the purpose of this RFP. Any attempt to contact any other City of Lawrence employee or to circumvent these procedures in any manner may be grounds for disqualification of the bidder from the procurement process.

5. All proposals received by the City of Lawrence in response to this RFP shall be considered

“firm” and may only be withdrawn as provided by M.G.L. c.30B. A proposer may correct, modify or withdraw a bid by sealed written notice clearly marked as a correction, modification or withdrawal and received in the Office of Purchasing & City Contracts prior to the time and date set forth for proposal submission.

6. After the proposal submission deadline, a proposer may not change any provision of the proposal in a manner prejudicial to the interests of the City or fair competition. Minor informalities will be waived or the proposer will be allowed to correct them. If a mistake and the intended proposal are clearly evident on the face of the proposal document, the mistake will be corrected to reflect the intended correct proposal and the proposer will be notified in writing; the proposer may not withdraw the proposal. A proposer may withdraw a proposal if a mistake is clearly evident on the face of the proposal document, but the intended correct proposal is not similarly evident.

7. The City reserves the right to cancel this RFP, or reject in whole or in party any and all proposals, if the City determines that cancellation or rejection serves the best interests of the City.

8. Proposals which are incomplete, conditional, not properly endorsed, or signed, or which are otherwise contrary to these instructions may be rejected.

9. The contract award is subject to an appropriation by the City Council for the fiscal year in which the contract is executed and for any subsequent fiscal year during the contract term.

10. It is prohibited for any proposal to be submitted that would constitute a violation of the conflict of interest statute, M.G.L. chapter 268A.

mailto:rdelrosario@cityoflawrence.com

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ANTICIPATED RFP TIME TABLE

Dates and times listed on this RFP Time Table are subject to change.

RFP issued Monday, June 1, 2026 @ 9:00 am

Deadline for submitting questions Wednesday, June 10, 2026 by 11:00am.

Proposals due Monday, June 15, 2026 by 11:00 a.m.

Evaluation of proposals June 15 – 22, 2026

Anticipated Award of contract June 2026

Deadline for implementation July 1st 2026

SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

The Technical Proposal must include the following:

Letter of Transmittal. Each proposal shall include a letter of transmittal, not to exceed two pages in length, which bears the signature of an authorized representative of the prime Contractor and designates by name not more than two (2) individuals who will execute the contract with The City of Lawrence on behalf of the prime Contractor. The letter of transmittal shall also state that the proposal will remain in effect for a period of sixty (60) calendar days after the deadline for submission of proposals.

The letter of transmittal may also briefly set forth any particular technical information the proposer wishes to bring to the City of Lawrence’s attention.

Each proposal shall include enumerated responses to the service requirements listed below to be considered a responsive and responsible proposal:

1. Inclusion of a list of all major software releases/upgrades for the past two (2) years, and a minimum of five (5) customer references that have received all software upgrades within each release series.

2. Description of the availability of routine technical support, emergency 24-hour technical support and your policy on providing software upgrades and enhancements. The methods or means by which the vendor plans to provide support services to the City and our customers are important given that the vendor may not be located local and that the solution will be a non-city hosted solution.

3. Provide an estimate of the amount of time needed to complete the implementation of the system and the training of the City personnel (specify any lead time required before work can begin). Flexible features such as online forms for payer initiated transactions that may not necessarily have an established account e.g., property tax or water bill, should be available and operational within 60 days after award of a contract. As part of this proposal, vendors are asked to specifically address schedule considerations.

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4. List the qualifications and experience of the key individuals who would be assigned to provide services under the RFP and identify their function. Identify the primary individual(s) who would have the authority to manage all services and resolve all business issues, or offer acceptable alternatives to the City's satisfaction.

5. If any part of the bidder's work is to be subcontracted, please submit a complete description of services, qualifications and capabilities of subcontractors and how the work flows from your company to the subcontractor. DO NOT include any fee arrangements or pricing information anywhere in your technical proposal, but instead include any fee or pricing information only in your price proposal.

FORM AND STRUCTURE OF PROPOSAL

Technical Proposal One (1) ORIGINAL and three (3) COPIES of the Technical Proposal must be submitted in a sealed envelope and labeled as follows: ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SERVICES

To be considered a complete bid, bidders must include all of the following in their submittal.

The bid must be organized in the following manner:

• Letter of Transmittal. Company background, contract authorizations and responses to questions 1 – 5 above.

• Technical/Minimum & Comparative Evaluation Criteria. In this section the vendor shall detail (Project Narrative) how its system and service will meet the general and detailed specifications set forth in this RFP. Vendor shall also, in order, clearly and concisely describe how they meet each criterion set forth in Section 5 of this RFP.

• References. Bidders shall list at least five (5) Massachusetts municipal clients to whom they have or currently provide these services similar to size and scope of this project.

• Required Forms. In this section shall be a fully completed and signed Clerk Certificate, Certificate of Non-Collusion, Certificate of Tax Compliance and W9 Form. Proposals submitted without any one of these forms may result in rejection of your proposal.

Cost Proposal One (1) ORIGINAL completed cost proposal sheet must be submitted in a sealed envelope and labeled as follows: ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SERVICES

• Completed Cost Proposal: A completed Bid Price Proposal Form or an exact copy, signed by the individual authorized to negotiate for and contractually bind Bidder. Failure to fully complete the form, or provide the requested information, or making any alterations will be deemed a conditional bid and the proposal will be rejected (included in bid package).

Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 30B, each proposal will be embargoed upon opening until such time as the City has completed the evaluation and selection process.

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Proposals received by the City after the deadline shall be refused and returned unopened to the respected proposer.

Delivery of the proposal documents will be at the bidder’s expense. Any and all damages that may occur due to packaging or shipping of the proposal documents will be the sole responsibility of the proposer.

RULE FOR AWARD

A three-year contract shall be awarded to the responsive and responsible proposer offering the most advantageous proposal taking into consideration price and services to be provided.

PROPOSERS’ EXAMINATION OF THE RFP

Proposers shall examine all information and materials contained in and with this RFP.

This shall include, but not limited to, all relevant laws and regulations of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the United States Government. Failure to do so shall be at the proposer’s risk.

EXCEPTIONS TO THE RFP

All exceptions to this RFP shall be clearly identified and written explanations shall include the scope of the exceptions, the ramifications of the exceptions for Lawrence, and a description of the advantages to be gained by Lawrence as a result of these exceptions.

INCURRING COSTS

Lawrence shall not be liable for any costs incurred by proposers in preparing, submitting or presenting proposals, or in satisfying any demonstration or other requirements.

Lawrence shall not reimburse any costs incurred by proposers in anticipation of being awarded the contract under this RFP.

Lawrence shall not accept billings for additional costs except as may be otherwise specified in this RFP or the Agreement pursuant hereto.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF PRIME CONTRACTOR

The successful proposer shall be considered as the prime Contractor and shall be required to assume total responsibility for all billing and mailing services offered in its proposal, whether or not it is the manufacturer, producer, author or supplier of them.

Lawrence shall consider the successful proposer to be the sole point of contact with regard to all contractual matters, including the performance, service of and payment for services rendered.

PROPOSALS CONSIDERED “FIRM”

All proposals received by Lawrence in response to this RFP shall be considered “firm” and may only be withdrawn as provided by M.G.L. c.30B. Any proposer wishing to withdraw

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its proposal prior to the date and time specified in this RFP for submission shall send a letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the Chief Procurement Officer in advance of such withdrawal.

FIRM PRICE

Prices offered by the proposer shall be firm and not subject to increase during the term of any contractual agreement arising between Lawrence and the successful proposer as a result of this RFP, except as may be otherwise provided in this RFP or the contract pursuant to it with the successful contractor.

TERMINOLOGY

Terms used in this RFP are not intended to imply or denote a particular contractor and are not to be construed as restrictive in any way. All references in this RFP to specific products or suppliers are intended for illustrative or explanatory purposes only with no endorsement intended or implied by the City.

CASH DISCOUNTS

The proposer’s proposal shall offer its lowest and best price for any and all goods and services requested in this RFP. This should include all discounts available for local governments, school districts or otherwise.

The unit price proposed for each item shall include all applicable discounts for each such item on an item-by-item basis. “Bottom line” or total discounts will not be accepted.

AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS

If the City of Lawrence should not, for any reason at any time, appropriate or otherwise make available funds to support continuation of performance in any fiscal year succeeding the first year, the City’s Chief Procurement Officer shall cancel any contract pursuant to this RFP without penalty upon thirty (30) days’ notice to the successful proposer.

NO ASSIGNMENT

Assignment by the successful contractor to any third party of any contract based on this RFP or any monies due shall be absolutely prohibited.

FORCE MAJEURE

Neither the proposer nor the City shall be liable, nor may either cancel the Agreement pursuant to this RFP, when delays arise out of causes beyond the control and without the fault or negligence of the proposer or the City. Such causes may include but are not restricted to acts of God or the public enemy, acts of the City in sovereign capacity, fires, floods, lightning strikes, epidemics, quarantine restrictions, strikes, freight embargoes, wars, civil disturbances, work stoppage, power failures, laws, regulations, ordinances, acts or orders of any governmental agency or official thereof, and unusually severe weather (defined as any weather situation which requires the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to declare a state of emergency).

In every case, the delay must be beyond the control and without the fault or negligence of either party.

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If the proposer is delayed in her performance as a result of the above causes, the City may either (1) extend the time for completion of such responsibilities for a period equivalent to the time lost for completion of such responsibilities by reason of any or all of the aforesaid causes, or

(2) secure substitute performance at its own cost and expense during the duration of the excusable delay and reduce performance and payment under this Agreement, or (3) terminate all or a portion of this Agreement when the delay totally precludes the proposer’s performance or materially affects it and the delay continues for a delay of thirty (30) days. The City agrees that within ten (10) business days after commencement of the delay, it shall give the proposer written notice of its election as to options 1, 2, or 3.

LIABILITY AND INSURANCE

Proposers shall save and keep Lawrence harmless from any and all legal liability which may be established on behalf of any person or persons or corporation, whomsoever for, growing out of the normal use of these services.

The successful proposer shall take out and maintain during the life of the contract pursuant to the RFP such Public Liability and Property Damage Insurances as shall protect him and any subcontractor performing work covered by this contract from claims for damages for injury, including accidental death, as well as for claims for property damage which may arise from operations by himself or by his subcontractor(s) or by anyone directly or indirectly employed by either of them. The successful proposer shall also take out and maintain for the term of the contract all coverages required by statute or regulation.

General liability insurance shall be maintained in the amount of $500,000 including property damage in the amount of $500,000. Bodily injury insurance shall be maintained in the amount of $500,000/$1,000,000. Proof of the existence of such coverage shall be furnished to the City of Lawrence at the time of execution of the contract. The City of Lawrence shall be named as an insured.

The contract between the City of Lawrence and the successful proposer shall have the proposer hold the City harmless and indemnify the City for damages arising from proposer’s actions. No exception to this part of the contract will be accepted.

THE CITY OF LAWRENCE SHALL ACCEPT NO EXCEPTIONS TO THIS SECTION.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Under the Massachusetts General Laws, the City of Lawrence cannot assure the confidentiality of any material or information, which may be submitted by a proposer in response to this RFP. Thus, proposers who choose to submit confidential material or information do so at their own risk.

RIGHTS TO SUBMITTED MATERIAL

All proposals, responses, inquiries, or correspondence relating to or in reference to this RFP, and all reports, charts, displays, schedules, exhibits, and other documentation submitted by proposers shall become the property of Lawrence when received. Lawrence shall have no obligation to return any such submitted material.

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Supporting technical manuals will be returned at the request of the contractor. Lawrence retains the right to use any or all system ideas presented in any proposal in response to the RFP, whether amended or not. Selection or rejection of any proposal does not affect this right.

NON-DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

1. The proposer shall not discriminate against any qualified employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, religion or physical or mental handicap. The proposer agrees to comply with all applicable Federal and State statutes, rules and regulations prohibiting discrimination in employment including: Title VII of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1973; Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 151B Section 4 (1) and all relevant administrative orders and executive orders.

2. If a complaint or claim alleging violation by the proposer of such statutes, rules or regulations is presented to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) the proposer agrees to cooperate with MCAD in the investigation and disposition of such complaint or claim.

3. In the event of the proposer’s noncompliance with the provisions of this section, Lawrence shall impose such sanctions as it deems appropriate, including but not limited to:

(a) Withholding of payments due the proposer until the proposer complies; and

(b) Termination or suspension of any contract or agreement pursuant to this RFP.

COPY OF STANDARD CONTRACT

This RFP contains a sample copy of the City of Lawrence Standard Contract that the successful bidder(s) will be required to sign, upon notification of contract award. Software license agreements may be incorporated into the Standard Contract, under Schedule A – Scope of Services, subject to the approval of the City Attorney. Any software licensing agreements that are to be part of the Standard Contract must be included with the bid documents in order to allow the City Attorney to review the agreement(s), prior to awarding to the contract(s).

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Section 3

SCOPE OF SERVICES

The vendor to be selected will be expected to enter into a professional service contract to provide a web-based online bill payment and credit/debit card processing services. The City, in an attempt to minimize the amount of cash transactions, will be phasing a variety of departments from cash to a credit/debit card processing system. Parking garages/lots, Inspectional Services and the Tax Collector currently have the ability to perform these services. The intent is to provide this function to all City and school departments during the life of this contract.

A. Functionality

The successful vendor will provide and maintain an electronic payment processing system for all City financial transactions that meets the following criteria:

1. Vendor’s software meets compatibility requirements with Tyler Technology’s MUNIS software as related to data import and export files including MUNIS scheduler. Software must allow for automated transaction file import and download exports with set up functionality compatible with vendor’s existing processing and setup functionality.

Vendor must be able to conform to technical changes including upgrades as implemented by Tyler Technology on MUNIS, Citizen Serve, and Firehouse software over the period of the contract. Similar compatibility, import and download functionality will be required for other bill types determined by the City.

2. Vendor’s software will allow City to import daily payments as entered into MUNIS by City in such a manner that “itemized detail” rather than “aggregate payment detail” will be displayed at the customer level for all users to view. Similar payments specifications will be required for other bill types determined by the City.

3. Vendor must provide access to prior year information including .pdfs of Accounts Receivable bills. Users should have access to an electronic database created by vendor with all data and payment information.

4. Vendor should allow ability for users to generate an Accounts Receivable bill with past due amount stated through future date. Allows all Payers to re-print an Accounts Receivable bill copy (.pdf) that shows address info as displayed after it has gone through the USPO bulk mail software.

5. Vendor’s software must have ability to allow City or Vendor to add general information and special condition notes in order to retain pertinent information.

6. Municipal user security required for unlimited users that allows for restricted access when required by the City.

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7. Vendor’s software should offer Payers the ability to pay current and past due Accounts Receivable, such as taxes and utility bills, online with daily overdue interest calculations displayed.

8. Ability for Payers to pay and view multiple Accounts Receivable bill types such as taxes and utility bills at one time with one fixed ACH cost.

9. Vendor will provide, at no cost to the City, credit/debit card swipe terminals to be used at various City locations to enable on-site payment processing. These terminals should be configured to work with City equipment.

10. Payers should have an option of printing their bill and mailing in their remittance, or making an online payment via credit card, debit card, electronic check, pay-by-phone, pay-by-text or ACH/electronic check transaction in a secure online environment. The vendor’s system shall provide processing for all forms of online or electronic payment and provide a manner in which payments not paid through the vendor’s system shall be visible to the customer. The system shall provide posting of all payment transactions in a time specified in the vendor’s proposal, however; time is of the essence in this process.

All payment amounts will be validated against the most recent receivable files.

11. The Service shall include shopping cart functionality.

12. Payers who have scheduled a payment or registered for Auto-Pay will receive email notifications from the Service of pending payments.

13. The Service shall include the option of allowing a Payer to elect paperless billing.

14. The Service provides the Payer a onetime online payment option without registration.

The onetime payment should allow the customer to see 24 months of bill history, pay multiple bills in a shopping cart, pay with credit card or ACH and allow e-bill enrollment.

Account creation or log-in should not be required during the onetime payment.

15. Provide the Payer capability to register to access Payer’s account history, schedule a payment, set up Auto-Pay payments, create a budget payment schedule and store credit card or bank account information for future use.

16. Allows Payers to set up automatic and scheduled payments through their Payer account.

17. Secure data during its collection, transmission and storage. Data protection during collection and transmission via SSL with 128-bit encryption or better.

18. System allows payments using Visa, MasterCard, Discover and branded debit cards (MasterCard/Visa) as well as electronic checks.

19. Separate merchant accounts for each tax, charge or fee type as requested by the City.

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20. Transaction and merchant fees paid will be paid by the customer as a convenience fee unless the City decides to pay the fees. Should the City elect to pay a fee, the vendor will bill the City under separate cover for the charges and include an itemized invoice.

21. All convenience fees must be processed as a separate and unique transaction and not imbedded in total amount paid.

22. Provide a confirmation number for every successful payment.

23. Vendor will scale its staff to meet peak demand of seasonal collection cycles.

24. Provide online, secure payment tracking.

25. Timely notification by e-mail to the Payer and the City of all charge backs.

26. Financial reports of all payments; reports available online to specific City department.

27. Audit trail of a transaction through the entire payment cycle.

28. Must provide means of integration with internal applications via documented and delivered APIs or Web Services or secure file download in specified format.

29. Detailed online history.

30. Search for Accounts Receivable Bills by Street, license plate numbers, or other public data as determined by the City.

31. Preferred system will allow Bill Processors (Tax Services, Banks, Credit Unions or Mortgage Companies) to electronically research real estate tax information, report taxes owed and remit payments on behalf of property owners for all participating Billers.

32. The vendor’s web-interface will be customized to match the City’s look and feel and also have the ability to be quickly and easily changed by the vendor at the City’s request, at no cost to the City.

33. Selected system shall have the ability to interface with multiple other systems that allows for online registration and payment for class/department programs (such as Elder Services and School Department).

34. The vendor must provide an eBilling solution and maintain email addresses. Vendor must describe how they manage their eBilling process including how they monitor and track emails that are “sent” and emails that are “returned undeliverable”.

35. The City would like the option, in the future, to provide a kiosk in the building with electronic payment capabilities.

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B. Payment Validation

1. Credit and debit card payment transactions processed with “real-time” authorization, i.e., immediate acceptance or rejection.

2. ACH payment verifications typically require a minimum of two business days. In order to provide a minimum accuracy test upfront, the software should allow for immediate routing number verifications as initial confirmations that correct bank information has been entered.

3. The Vendor will add “not sufficient funds” (NSF) fee to Payers’ account balance

C. Payment Processing

1. Credit/debit card payments must post to a City’s bank account as a daily batch by merchant account. City may have several separate merchant accounts.

2. E-Check must post to City’s account as a daily batch. The batch amount must tie to one day of e-check receipts with real-time feedback on payment confirmation, authorization and transaction information (e.g. account number, permit number, invoice number, etc.).

3. ACH transactions processed by 5:00 p.m. (EST) shall be available to the City within one

(1) business day.

4. Credit/debit card transactions received by 5:00 p.m. (EST) shall be processed for settlement that night, and funds will be available to the City within two (2) business days.

5. Notification by e-mail to the Payer and the City of all charge backs within two (2) business days. Notification will include Payer’s name, date of payment, payment type (i.e. e-check, credit card), payment amount and bill# as entered by customer for processing.

6. Payment file must be in the file format specific by the City of Lawrence and will vary for different bill payment categories.

D. Reports

Vendor’s software will calculate overdue interest on all past due bills as directed by the City.

Vendor will be able to load past fiscal years bills as required by the City. This information may be loaded in order for .pdf bill copies may be printed and/or so that payment history for past fiscal years can be displayed.

The payment processor component must provide a report which lists each payee name, payment transaction type (credit card, debit card or ACH), payment description (i.e. receivable type and account number or fee type), and amount paid. The report must allow date parameters and be sorted by merchant account. The report must subtotal by receivable type / bill category type (or

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permit type) and by payment type. If convenience fees charged, convenience fees must be subtotaled separately.

E. Training and Customer & Technical Support

The vendor will provide phone and email support to Payers on all transaction related questions and issues. Vendor shall provide user training, administrative and development training as well as documentation for City of Lawrence technical staff prior to implementation date. Vendor shall, as requested by the City, provide customer notices and similar materials disclosing all surcharges and conditions applicable to an online and electronic payment payer.

The vendor must provide a dedicated support team for all services provided, both to the municipality and its Payers. Phone and email responses from a call/customer support center are required including notice to taxpayers of failed payments.

F. Project Schedule

The system is to be implemented and go active no later July 1st 2026 or at such date reasonably thereafter as the City may determine.

G. Notification of Change

In the event of any such changes or withdrawal of authorization effecting the vendor’s ability to provide services under this RFP, the vendor shall provide the City with written notice within five

(5) business days of the receipt of such notice notifying the City of either (a) such change to the services required by the card issuers or intermediary processors, or (b) termination of the Agreement by said vendor , which termination shall be effective upon receipt of such notice by City and the provisions set forth by the City.

H. Marketing of Electronic Payment Services

It is the goal of the City to increase to the extent possible the number of payments made to it electronically, and the vendor’s compensation will increase pro rata as the number of electronic transactions increase. The winning proposer shall provide to the City, at no cost, marketing materials promoting the electronic payment services and take any other appropriate steps to increase the number of electronic transactions processed hereunder.

I. Transitional Plan & Services

The winning proposer shall work with the vendor currently providing electronic payment services to the City. All proposers should provide a plan to transition the City’s existing online Payer accounts from the current vendor to the proposer. Specifically, the proposer shall describe its process for migrating customers with future-scheduled payments to the new software platform. Proposers should note that the pricing schedule which is provided for this RFP does not allow for separate pricing for these transitional services. Accordingly, proposers must include

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their costs for transitional services within the prices on their Proposals, i.e., Proposers should "build-in" their costs for additional services.

The successful proposer shall also provide transitional services at the end of the contract term when it is succeeded by a new vendor. These services should also be priced into your proposal.

J. Disaster/Business Recovery Plan

1. The proposer shall submit with its proposal a description of the company’s business Disaster/Business Recovery Plan in the event of internal failure and/or external disaster beyond your control. Please define and identify specific backup equipment, personnel and locations.

2. Please identify what your Disaster/Business Recovery Plan specifically covers for essential services.

3. How often is your Disaster/Business Recovery Plan actually tested?

4. Have you had to activate the Disaster/Business Recovery Plan due to an actual disaster or major systems failure within the last three years? If yes, please explain.

5. Do you have a post-disaster contingency plan if your first back-up location becomes inoperative? If yes, please explain.

6. Submission of a Disaster/Business Recovery Plan shall be considered a Minimum

Criterion.

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Section 4: REFERENCES Proposer shall have a minimum of five (5) Massachusetts references that are similar in size and scope to this project and shall all be listed below.

1. Contact ____________________________________________

Company Name _____________________________________

Address ____________________________________________

Phone _____________________________________________

Brief Description of project _____________________________________________________

2. Contact ______________________________________________

Company Name _______________________________________

Address ______________________________________________

Phone _______________________________________________

Brief Description of project _____________________________________________________

3. Contact _______________________________________________

Company Name ________________________________________

Address _______________________________________________

Phone _________________________________________________

Brief Description of project _____________________________________________________

4. Contact ____________________________________________

ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SERVICES | CITY OF LAWRENCE 19

Phone _____________________________________________

Brief Description of project _____________________________________________________

5. Contact ____________________________________________

Phone _____________________________________________

Brief Description of project _____________________________________________________

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Section 5

COST PROPOSAL

This form will be used by the Contractor as their Price Proposal, for the purposes of compliance with Chapter 30B of the Massachusetts General Laws. Contractors must fill out this form in its entirety and submit it in a separate envelope as their Price Proposal. Failure to fully complete the form, provide the requested information, or make alterations will be considered a conditional bid and the bid will be rejected.

YEAR 1

Number of Transactions/Year Fee Per Transaction Total Annual Fee

Credit/Debit Card Payments 70,000

ACH Payments 30,000

YEAR 2

Credit/Debit Card Payments 70,000

ACH Payments 30,000

YEAR 3

Credit/Debit Card Payments 70,000

ACH Payments 30,000

FEE GRAND TOTAL $

The City of Lawrence, at the time of this RFP does not have the number and dollar amount of electronic pay transactions that will be handled by the successful proposer hereunder. The amounts listed are an estimate and it is estimated that the increase of electronic payment transactions may be 20% per year.

There may, in fact, be more or fewer transactions. However, many there are, the proposer’s Fee/ Transaction shall not change. Bidders are allowed to offer different prices for different contract years. All prices must remain firm for the contract year.

While the City seeks to increase the number of transactions, it prefers that citizens’ transaction costs be reasonable. Accordingly, a vendor with lower fees will be deemed more advantageous than a vendor with higher fees.

The undersigned agrees to furnish the City of Lawrence with the entire project as detailed in the Request for Proposals at the price as evidenced above:

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Date ________________ ____________________________________________ (Company Name)

By __________________________________________ (Name of Person Signing Bid and Title)

(Business Street)

(City, State, Zip)

Telephone _________________ Fax _______________

Email Address _________________________________

Acknowledge Addenda #__________________________

*Bidder’s signature: ____________________________ ____________ Signature Date

ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SERVICES | CITY OF LAWRENCE 22

Section 6

MINIMUM EVALUATION CRITERIA

Complete this form and include it in your technical proposal.

A contract(s) will be awarded to a responsive and responsible contractor who has submitted a proposal which conforms in all aspects to the Request for Proposal. A responsive contractor is a contractor who has submitted a proposal, which conforms in all respects to the request for proposals. A responsible contractor is a contractor who has the capability to perform fully the contract requirements and the integrity and reliability to, which assure good faith performance.

At a minimum, the services being offered to the City as a result of this RFP, must meet the following requirements. Proposals which do not meet the minimum requirements as set forth herein may be considered unresponsive, at the City’s sole discretion, and may be rejected.

MINIMUM EVALUATION CRITERIA

YES NO

1.

Proposer’s firm is in good standing and has no reports of unsatisfactory or non-performance against them?

• Bidders must list any unsatisfactory or non-performance reports against them and any pending litigation(s). Listed shall be the reporting municipality, contact person & telephone number.

2.

Proposer has a minimum of three (3) years’ experience in performing the work described in this RFP?

3.

Proposer shall submit a complete list of all contracts performed in Massachusetts in the past (3) years with contact name, address and phone number.

4.

Proposer shall have a minimum of twelve (12) government clients in Massachusetts (clients listed in technical proposal)?

5.

Proposer shall have a minimum of five (5) Massachusetts references that are similar in size and scope to this project.

6.

Bidder has submitted a complete proposal with all required documents signed; i.e. Non Collusion, Tax Compliance, Clerk Certificate and W9; as instructed in Form and Structure of Bid in this RFP?

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Section 7

COMPARATIVE EVALUATION CRITERIA

The City of Lawrence shall apply the criteria, which follows in its evaluation of the proposals. The purpose of the information requested in this section is to assist the evaluation committee in making decisions about the proposers’ overall qualifications, including technical abilities and previous experience.

Proposers should clearly respond in writing to each criterion as enumerated, responses to the following areas shall be complete and full.

The Chief Procurement Officer will select an individual(s) to assist in evaluating the proposals. The individuals will review each proposal- and provide the Chief Procurement Officer with a recommendation regarding “responsiveness” or “non-responsiveness.”

Proposals that fulfill all "minimum" criteria will be evaluated on the basis of "Comparative Evaluation Criteria.”

The ratings of "Highly Advantageous", "Advantageous", "Non Advantageous" and/or "Unacceptable" will be used to evaluate each proposal using the following evaluation criteria:

1. Experience with municipalities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Highly Advantageous Vendor has at least five (5) years’ experience in the set up and monitoring of online bill pay services & credit/debit card processing for municipalities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with more than 75,000 residents.

Advantageous Vendor has less than five (5) but more than three (3) years’ experience in the set up and monitoring of online bill pay services & credit/debit card processing for municipalities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with more than 75,000 residents.

Not Advantageous Vendor has less than three years’ experience, but more than one year, in the set up and monitoring of online bill paying & credit/debit card processing for municipalities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with less than 75,000 residents.

Unacceptable Vendor has less than one-year experience in the set up and monitoring of online bill paying and credit/debit card processing for municipalities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

2. Form and Payment Processing

Highly Advantageous System proposed supports payments using American Express, Discover, Visa, MasterCard and branded debit cards (MasterCard/Visa), electronic checks as well as pay-by-phone and pay-by-text.

Advantageous System proposed does not support payments from at least one of the following: American Express, Discover, Visa, MasterCard, and MasterCard/Visa debit cards.

ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SERVICES | CITY OF LAWRENCE 24

Not Advantageous System proposed does not support payments from at least two of the

Unacceptable System proposed does not support payments from at least three of the

3. Timeliness of Transaction Authorization

Highly Advantageous Proposed system provides real-time authorizations for credit/debit card payments and performs minimum ACH payment verifications at time of payment by confirming that the routing number is valid.

Advantageous Proposed system provides real-time authorizations for credit card payments but no minimum ACH payment verification

Not Advantageous Proposed system does not provide real-time authorizations for credit/debit card payments but requires a waiting period. It does perform minimum ACH payment verifications at time of payment by confirming that the routing number is valid.

Unacceptable Proposed system does not provide real-time authorization for credit card payments and does not provide any ACH payment validation at time of payment.

4. Viability of Security Systems

Highly Advantageous Vendor demonstrates and documents in detail all aspects of security measures that are in place.

Advantageous Vendor has security measures in place but fails to demonstrate or document them in detail.

Not Advantageous Vendor has security measures in place but provides minimal information.

Unacceptable Vendor does not have security measures in place.

5. Transaction and Merchant Fee Processing

Highly Advantageous Proposed system clearly indicates the City may decide whether transaction and merchant fees will be paid by the customer and maintain the right to change this if City decides to cover expense. The convenience fees are processed as separate and unique transaction amounts, not imbedded in the total amount paid.

Advantageous Proposed system does not clearly indicate the transaction and merchant fess may be paid by the customer or the City; the convenience fees are processed as separate and unique transaction amounts, not imbedded in the total amount paid.

Not Advantageous Proposed system clearly indicates the transaction and merchant fess are paid by the customer; the convenience fees are not processed as separate and unique transaction amounts, or are imbedded in the total amount paid.

ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SERVICES | CITY OF LAWRENCE 25

Unacceptable Proposed system does not allow the transaction and merchant fees being paid by the municipality and fees are not itemized.

6. Interface with Separate Online Programs Registration and Payments Systems

Highly Advantageous Vendor can interface with a minimum of two (2) online programs registrations and payments systems which operate in Massachusetts municipalities.

Advantageous Vendor can interface with a minimum of one (1) online programs registrations and payments systems which operate in Massachusetts

Not Advantageous Vendor can interface with at least one (1) online programs registrations and payments systems which does not operate in Massachusetts

Unacceptable Vendor cannot interface with any online programs registrations and payments systems.

7. Overall Quality of Proposal

Highly Advantageous The proposer’s response is thorough, comprehensive, detailed and specific. It clearly demonstrates the proposer’s understanding of the project and City’s strong desire to market this endeavor. The proposal provides detailed examples of the proposer’s comparable project experience. The overall content of the proposal provides the maximum assurance to the City that the proposer possesses the knowledge, skills, expertise and resources to effectively supply the services and equipment needed to fulfill the terms of the contract. The proposal also shows the capability to implement enhancements and improvements to the system on an on-going basis.

Advantageous The proposer’s response is, for the most part, thorough, comprehensive, and detailed. The response addressed the project and cited come examples of past performance and project experience. The overall content of the proposal provides a high level of assurance to the City that the proposer possesses the knowledge, skills, expertise and resources to supply the services, marketing and equipment needed to fulfill the terms of the contract. The proposal also shows willingness to implement enhancements and improvements to the system.

Unacceptable The proposer’s response is deficient in addressing the scope of work.

The response does not demonstrate the proposer understands the project or will market the City’s endeavor. The overall content of the proposal fails to provide a marginal level of assurance to the City that the proposer possesses the knowledge, skills, expertise and resources to supply the services and equipment needed to fulfill the terms of the contract.

ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SERVICES | CITY OF LAWRENCE 26

Section 8: Certificate of Non Collusion, Clerk Certificate, Certificate of Tax Compliance & W9 Form All forms must be completed and submitted with the Non-Cost Proposal

Certificate of Non Collusion

The undersigned certifies under the penalties of perjury that this bid or bid has been made and submitted in good faith and without collusion or fraud with any other person. As used in this certification, the word “person” shall mean any natural person, business partnership, corporation, union, committee, club or other organization, entity or group of individuals.

Signature of person submitting…