Front End and Fee Collection Sources Sought 2024.11.21.docx

SSN-11212024-CAPPT

U.S. Department of State Sources Sought Passport Front-End Processing and Specialty Fee Collection Services Synopsis THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT (SS) request. This is not a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The Department of State (DOS) Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA), Office of Passport Services (PPT) has a need for front-end application processing and specialty lockbox services to initiate processing of US Passport Applications and fulfill secure payment processing. The service provider could process approximately 30,000-66,000 applications daily. Front end processes and fee collection services include tracking, batching, data entry, scanning, fee collection, secure upload, and document destruction services within 24 hours of receipt. The Department is seeking to identify qualified sources from industry. The purpose of the SS is to identify viable US Domestic sources for project planning, to include the exploration of technical Front End and commercially available capabilities for specialized lockbox services.

Sources replying to this notice must demonstrate experience with wholesale global capacity lockbox service[footnoteRef:2], which will support DOS in receiving payment for passport applications and processing the payment associated with the applicants’ package; the Contractor will act as an official drop-off point for direct payments, which are then collected by a bank and processed. For PPT, the fee solution or lockbox service includes physical document receipt and delivery service, a quality review of the application, a secure portal for processing fees, and secure transmittance to the appropriate end user. [2: DOS is utilizing this term for processing of paper payments (e.g. check, money order)]

Background PPT serves U.S. citizens intending international travel through passport issuance, while protecting the integrity of the U.S. passport as proof of U.S. citizenship at home and around the world. PPT provides the policy and operational framework to secure payment transactions across the following document types at minimum:

For the Bureau of Consular Affairs, front-end passport application processing focuses on paper-based passport applications. It involves accepting, verifying, and securely depositing consular fee payments from passport applicants. Once an application is received, verified, and scanned, the Contractor initiates consular fee collection services and, with direction from Passport, batches applications for DOS processing or if non-compliant, for DOS assistance to become compliant. The customer-centric model entitles validated citizens passport products. CA front-end processing accounts for received applications, conducts quality review, reports capacity and seasonal planning metrics, hosts the secure data transfer, reports findings, and facilitates courier services.

Scope At a very high level, and for the purposes of identifying sources, the scope includes three main functional categories:

1. Fee Processing for the financial component includes acceptance and secure capture, verification, deposits, and transmissions of consular fees. This is a Contractor-managed payment solution for paper-based fee collection and electronic funds processing, and associated reporting.

2. Data Entry and Data Management professional support services across the following concentrations: electronic capture of paper passport applications and all supporting documents, data entry, escalation, and application/batching. The Contractor’s quality control services include trained staff to review applications by sorting, reporting, and conducting actions surrounding compliant and non-compliant applications.

3. Technology includes Contractor provided tracking systems, data security and the DOS provided secure portal. The contractor shall ensure cyber/privacy, data masking, Personal Identifiable Information (PII) compliance, system scalability and storage.

Visual 1. Passport Front End Application Workflow The workflow provides a high-level overview of the services the Contractor is expected to provide once received.

Sources Sought Questions The Offeror is required to fill out the form exactly as requested. Please do not offer additional information as this will not be reviewed. The Department is seeking viable sources capable of providing services according to the stated scope. If additional information is requested, the Department will request information from industry.

A. Fee Collection (Specialty Lockbox) Scope The Contractor will be required to implement a Financial Management Service (FMS) - Electronic Check Processing (ECP) or like system. The Contractor shall scan, transmit, and settle all negotiable items through their proposed ECP or other, either through truncation under “Check 21,” or by conversion. DOS will complete an Agency Participation Agreement (APA) and Agency Cashflow Profile (ACP) with the Department of the Treasury, which will detail the terms and parameters of the cashflow the Contractor must follow. The Contractor will be responsible for providing a daily fee collection summary at the transaction level that accurately captures the activity by applicant, which at minimum will include the date, name, unique identifier, amount, and product type.

1. Provide your best practices for total cost of transaction fees and one example of your past performance conducting 24-hour fee collection services; include experience with reconciliation, charge back, and reporting type.

2. Company is a globally certified and licensed lockbox provider. Circle one: Yes No

3. Provide your annual fee collection or lockbox related Electronic Check Processing (ECP[footnoteRef:3]), Remote Deposit Capture, or Check conversion volume by largest client / project: [3: ECP is a centralized and secure internet web-based system that converts paper checks received through the mail and processed in the Financial Agent’s Lockbox into electronic transactions for clearing purposes. Lockbox services must provide a means of converting cash and money orders into an acceptable form of payment to be properly processed through ECP. The establishment of strong internal controls for cash collections is necessary to prevent mishandling of cash and to safeguard against loss.

a. What is your annual processing volume ___________________________________

b. What is your average monthly processing volume ___________________________

c. How many US domestic locations do you own or lease that provide fee collection services? ______

4. The Department expects fee solution services will include check and money order for processing. However, if the Offeror can also collect electronic payment, the Department is interested in the Offeror’s payment solution, what forms of payment it can accept, and verification of reducing all risk to the government. The Contractor remains responsible for providing daily reporting to CA following 7 FAH-1 H-720 Consular Fee Collection And Accounting standards. This expectation includes a daily by action model.

B. Data Entry and Data Management The Contractor is expected to conduct front-end processing, which includes services such as application receiving, sorting, scanning, data entry and destruction. These services must track the lifecycle, assess quality, and provide data input compliant with a government provided secure portal. The Contractor is responsible to input applicant data that contains PIA and PII. The Contractor’s capacity to provide a flexible solution that can scale is of utmost importance. Application services averaged 20.5 million in FY24; DOS expects this number to continue rising, even with DOS electronic processes available for some qualified passport renewals. The Contractor’s resources shall provide a quality review of applications, conduct the fiduciary fee collection service, report progress to DOS, and ship to Agencies at the Department’s direction within 24 hours of receipt. To this end, the Contractor must provide insight to their experience with data collection and quality; to include product volume and workforce capacity scaling.

5. Do you have a system or an as a service solution used to offer secure data collection, entry and storage? Define and describe.

a. What PII / PIA personnel training do you have in place?

6. Describe how you support seasonal volume surges while maintaining timelines and quality.

7. Provide information about how the firm has demonstrated success in upholding quality standards (e.g., through training or resource allocation to ensure quality control).

8. The qualified candidate shall explain how your workforce management solution will ensure the competency of employees producing work that maintains quality and performance standards.

a. Describe your data entry process.

b. Describe your data entry and quality control training and employee-based performance accountability.

9. The qualified candidate must be able to explain how your firm maintains root cause analysis, quality standards, quality control, mitigation factors, process improvement, and preventative action. Describe.

C. Technology and Data Security The contractor will be required to capture, track, and report on all aspects of the front-end and fee solution related processes. The Contractor shall demonstrate the capability to process standard data and reporting volumes, and support seasonally high volumes while maintaining quality and fully transparent tracking at all times. For this reason, the Contractor shall procure and install all information technologies and telecommunications infrastructure that will be used for operations. This includes, but is not limited to, personal computers (PC), PC accessories, network equipment, servers, telephones, switches, CAT 6e cable, fiber optic cable, and printers. All DOS provided equipment will be on the DOS Information Technology Configuration Control Board (IT CCB) approved hardware and software baseline list. The Contractor shall be responsible for complying with 12FAM600’s relevant DOS Information Security Technology requirements.

10. Describe your physical security posture? Do you have an approved data security plan with a US federal agency?

11. Has the Contractor experienced a data breach?

a. If no, describe secure tools implemented.

b. If yes, describe your mitigation and resolution.

Interested Parties Data All interested parties are to provide the following information using the exact table provided below:

1. Company name and address:

2. Unique Entity ID (UEI) in SAM.gov:

3. Primary NAICS Code:

4. PSC Code:

5. DUNS number:

6. Socioeconomic status (list all):

7. Technical point of contact (name, role, email and phone):

8. Contractual point of contact (name, role, email and phone):

9. Contract vehicles accessible to DOS/PPT:

10. Subcontracting is allowable. Provide the services intended to be subcontracted in list format using the columns below – add more rows as needed. Note: Future team arrangements, if any, would be subject to FAR 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting.

a.

b.

c.

Optional: Attach capability statement, 2 page maximum (not included in page count below) Responses must not exceed 5 pages and be submitted no later than December 13, 2024. Capability statements will not be returned, and responses will not be accepted after the due date.

Confidentiality No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s). Email submission requirements may be directed to:

Contracting Officer: Kathleen (Kathy) Mejia, mejiakj@state.gov

Application Mailed

Fee Solution / Fee Deposit

Data Entry

Digital File to DOS Provided Secure Portal

Courior Services / Batching

Sorting (Form Type, Compliant, Non-Compliant)

Destruction

Application Received and Documented

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