GSA_SmartPay_RFI_01.docx

Future GSA SmartPay® Program

Request for Information

Government Payment Solutions

December 2014

Table of Contents

1. Background

2. Purpose

3. Procurement Timeline

4. Responses

5. Industry Outreach

GSA SmartPay® Request for Information Government Payment Solutions

1. Background The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Office of Charge Card Management (OCCM) manages the GSA SmartPay charge card and payment solutions program on behalf of the federal government. GSA is beginning the process to recompete the current contract under the GSA SmartPay program. Currently, there are four business lines in the program: Purchase, Travel, Fleet, and Integrated charge cards and related payment solutions. Purchase cards are used to procure commercially available goods and services for agency use. Travel cards are used by agency travelers while on official travel to pay for travel-related expenses (e.g. hotel, airfare, rental car, incidentals). Fleet cards are used to procure fuel and maintenance for government-owned vehicles. Integrated cards combine two or more business lines onto one card.

In 2008, OCCM awarded three contracts for charge cards and related payment solutions and services known as the GSA SmartPay 2 program. The GSA SmartPay 2 program provides the Federal Government and its cost-reimbursable contractors with numerous benefits including:

· Program services to over 350 federal agencies, organizations, and Native American tribes that process nearly 90 million purchase, travel, and fleet transactions annually with an approximate value of $26 billion in Fiscal Year 2014;

· A streamlined purchasing process that eliminates the use of purchase orders and reduces administrative costs;

· An improved payment process that allows fully automated invoicing and payment processing;

· Refunds for agencies based on net charge volume, with earnings of over $272 million in agency refunds in Fiscal Year 2014 as well as productivity refunds based on file turn (i.e. speed of pay);

· Electronic access systems that support account setup and management, reconciliation and payment, as well as other process such as reporting and;

· A wide range of innovative payment solutions (e.g. virtual accounts, single-use accounts) that provide agencies with flexibility to make payments above and beyond traditional plastic cards.

The current GSA SmartPay 2 master contracts will expire on November 29, 2018, assuming the Government exercises the remaining contract option periods.

GSA's vision for the future GSA SmartPay program focuses on:

· A wide array of payment solutions to take advantage of future technologies (e.g., mobile payments, electronic wallets, digital currency, etc.) that bring efficiencies to the Government space

· Customer service excellence through improved service support, better customer tools, and greater responsiveness to evolving customer needs, specifically data reporting and compliance;

· Robust data collection and data analytics to use for sourcing decisions and increase data transparency;

· Partnerships in program management, control, and oversight to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse;

· Innovation in meeting unique government requirements, particularly relating to data and risk management; and

· Innovative products and services that will make the future government charge card program secure and robust.

2. Purpose GSA is interested in new and innovative payment solutions to meet future program challenges. This Request for Information (RFI) is designed to obtain information from industry regarding suggested approaches and to enable due consideration of new technology and applications. This information will support the development of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a potential future charge card/payment solution.

The government is looking to industry for new and innovative approaches to provide an end-to-end solution for:

· Payment solutions, on a government-wide scale, for users within and beyond the continental United States;

· Innovative payment solutions to assist agencies with finding ways to maximize payment efficiencies above and beyond traditional use of plastic charge cards;

· Helping agencies/organizations streamline payment processes and identify cost savings opportunities; and

· Capturing data and providing management information regarding card usage, while ensuring Privacy Act and security requirements are met.

This RFI will acquire information concerning potential solutions, services, and support that the private sector can offer to achieve these goals. Responses to this RFI may be:

· Considered in the preparation of the subsequent RFP;

· Used for a business case; and

· Used for budgeting purposes.

This RFI is for planning purposes only. There is no intention to acquire any products or services, or award any contract, based on this RFI.

3. Procurement Timeline This RFI is the first step in a multi-phased procurement process.

GSA expects to subsequently issue a DRAFT RFP for industry comment.

The final RFP is expected to be issued in 2016, with awards of contracts expected to be made in 2017.

4. Responses The government requests that all responses to this RFI correspond to the numbered topics below, using the paragraph numbers set out in this document to reference each part of their response. Please respond to all topics. If the topic is not applicable, note “N/A” for that topic in the response. The Government may request that respondents provide additional information based on their initial submittals. Responses must include the name, telephone number, and e-mail address of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss responses with GSA.

Written responses to this RFI are due via email by 5pm EDT on January 22, 2015.

Electronic responses should be sent to:

spcard@gsa.gov

Questions should be directed to Donna Rankin at (703) 603-8356 or Gregory Pope at (703) 605-2153.

5. Topics Please provide responses to the following:

1. Brief description of the company, including:

a. Corporate website;

b. NAICS code(s);

c. Business size (see http://www.sba.gov/size/indextableofsize.html).

2. A two-page or less statement of qualifications for the company, including brief description of past work performed in the areas of payment solutions, including charge card/payment acceptance capabilities, data management, and data mining.

3. Contracting Methods - Input is desired regarding methods of contracting, specifically in the areas of:

a. Providing information to help the Government understand how these services are purchased commercially (include typical terms and conditions and pricing that are addressed for similar services or contracts of this nature)

b. Innovative solutions for potential contracting methods and structure

c. Information on the company’s willingness to, ability to, and experience with managing Contractor Teaming Arrangements (CTA) relationships in order to bring a multi-faceted payment solution to customers

4. Innovative Payment Solutions –

a. Input is desired (including risk identification and mitigation strategies regarding new and innovative approaches for card-not-present transactions, including but not limited to:

i. Virtual (cardless) accounts

ii. Additional card-not-present solutions

b. Input is desired (including risk identification and mitigation strategies) regarding a new and innovative approaches for in-person or card-present transactions including, but not limited to the following:

i. Mobile payments

ii. Mobile phone contactless

iii. Chip and Pin/Chip & Signature

iv. Additional innovative solutions

c. Input is desired (including risk identification and risk mitigation strategies) regarding the following products/services:

i. Payment aggregators

ii. Tokenization

iii. Coupons and incentives (Loyalty Programs)

iv. Fraud analytics/case management tools

v. Procure-to-pay services

vii. Brand and network services

viii. Acquiring services

ix. Grants payment solutions

x. Utilities payment solutions

xi. Tax compliance, up front tax exemption, and tax recovery solutions

xii. Lease payment solutions

xiii. Additional innovative solutions

d. Input is desired regarding perceived future use of the following solutions in the market:

i. Virtual (cardless) accounts

ii. Single-use accounts

iii. Ghost cards

iv. Declining balance cards

v. Stored value cards

vi. Foreign currency cards

vii. Contactless cards

viii. Electronic invoice and payment

e. Input is desired regarding new or anticipated payment solutions or needs that will arise between 2018-2028:

i. Input on solutions for card present transactions

ii. Input on solutions for card not present transactions

f. Input is desired regarding chip and PIN/signature card and the impact of increased chip and PIN/signature use by 2018.

g. Input is desired regarding training associated with roll out of current and future innovative solutions for customers.

5. Fee Structure/Pricing - Input is desired regarding new and innovative options for structuring refunds/fees and pricing program services, to enhance the quality and appeal of the program to its customers and vendors. Specifically, for the various payment solutions offered, input is desired regarding:

a. Standard commercial practices for providing refunds to customers

b. Standard commercial refund structures, specifically productivity refunds versus sales refunds

c. Standard commercial pricing structures for cardless solutions

6. Data Management and Reporting - Input is desired regarding new and innovative data management and reporting solutions that would enable successful achievement of the following program objectives:

a. Strategic sourcing: Level 3 data and reporting to leverage the buying power of the government to achieve savings, improve procurement efficiency, and provide the best value for customers by negotiating favorable terms and conditions with vendors

b. Agency program risk management through the use of controls, policies, and leading practices through real-time information, to identify, evaluate, and reduce payment delinquencies, misuse, fraud, waste, and abuse

c. Performance measurement and reporting through the use of metrics and key performance indicators to measure overall program and participant performance, manage program goals and objectives, and identify new opportunities at the program -wide and agency-specific levels

d. Accounts payable administration (including electronic bill presentment) through management of appropriate transaction documentation, reconciliation of discrepancies, disbursement of payments, and management of written policies and procedures for the appropriate use of payment tools

e. Reporting tools available and detailed functionality of such tools

7. Customer Service - Input is desired regarding the type and level of customer service that would be available to cardholders, customer agencies and GSA for the GSA SmartPay program. This includes, but is not limited to:

a. Dedicated customer service resources by customer segment (e.g. by agency or payment solution). These may include, but are not limited to: training, brochures, webinars, dedicated website

b. Information and potential performance metrics regarding contact center support

c. Customer-service solutions to assist customers through internet methods only for those not stationed in the U.S. or without access to a phone (e.g. online customer service chat functions, email account for questions)

d. Phone-based customer service

e. Mobile customer service solutions (mobile application, SMS notifications for account statement availability & suspicious activity, etc.)

8. Security - Security of program data and compliance with Privacy Act requirements is of critical importance to the government. Input is desired regarding the type and level of security appropriate for GSA SmartPay payment solutions. This includes, but is not limited to, information addressing the following questions:

a. What risks exist that impact payment solutions and what steps can be taken to mitigate these risks?

b. What risks to data security and privacy exist in the collection, management, maintenance, storage and transmission of data, and what steps can be taken to mitigate these risks?

c. What Federal Security Regulations or industry standards are being used or implemented within your company (Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), Sarbanes Oxley (SOX), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Security Guidelines, Card Association operating regulations, Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards, Federal Government Agencies IT Guidelines)?

d. What additional security requirements will be put in place for card-not-present transactions (i.e. online transactions, or via phone)?

9. Transition Management - Input is desired regarding transition management capabilities and practices that potential vendors could provide in assisting GSA and GSA SmartPay customers to smoothly transition to the future program. This includes input regarding potential types of training materials that could be provided to be utilized by government agencies, GSA, and other stakeholders.

10. Best Practice Payment Program Management - Input is desired regarding best management practices for payment programs. The Government is interested in the management practices to include but not limited to the following items:

a. Objectives of the payment management function in leading organizations

b. Organizational structure and size of the payment management function

c. Key operational processes and controls

d. Customer service and support

e. Common customer issues and methods that have been used to address issues

f. Success stories

g. Data management

h. Risk management

i. Best practices for managing individually-billed account (IBA) solutions and centrally-billed account (CBA) solutions.

j. Best practices for managing card not present transactions, as well as card present/other alternative solution transactions.

Responses to this RFI that indicate information is proprietary, or represents confidential business information, will be received and held in confidence in accordance with the appropriate Federal Acquisition Regulation guidelines and procedures. All proprietary information should be clearly identified as PROPRIETARY INFORMATION.

The government does not intend to pay for the information solicited. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the government will arise because of submission of responses to this RFI and the government's use of such information. Information provided by respondents will not be returned.

6. Industry Outreach GSA reserves the right to either conduct an industry day, or invite RFI respondents to meet with GSA SmartPay officials to further discuss their approaches and solutions addressing future program requirements. Respondents will be contacted by the GSA Contracting Officer and provided additional information once a decision has been made on how the Government will proceed.