Request for Information.pdf

State of Florida Department of Financial Services

Request for Information (RFI) RFI No.: 2223-01 RFI UP

Payment/Disbursement Services

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE BID, PROPOSAL, OR REPLY

AND NO CONTRACT WILL BE AWARDED.

I. Introduction and Background.

Pursuant to The Florida Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act, chapter 717, Florida Statutes (“Unclaimed Property Act”), the Department of Financial Services, Division of Unclaimed Property is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Unclaimed Property Act. To promote the return of unclaimed property to its rightful owner, the Department provides an online searchable database that receives over 2.5 million visits annually. In addition, the Department operates a call center and conducts extensive outreach efforts. In fiscal year 2021/2022, the Department processed over 600,000 claims resulting in the return of $388 million to rightful owners all over the state of Florida and beyond.

II. Current Process.

Section 717.123, Florida Statutes, provides that all unclaimed funds remitted pursuant to the Unclaimed Property Act are to be deposited into the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund, from which the Department makes prompt payment of approved claims. Payments for approved claims are currently made to claimants by check.

III. Goal.

The Department is seeking information regarding modern payment options that will provide added benefit to unclaimed property claimants and create efficiencies for the State. These benefits may include, but are not limited to, stored value products or accounts. Vendors are encouraged to provide information on payment systems that would facilitate offering unclaimed property claimants the fastest and most efficient form of payment.

IV. Purpose of an RFI.

Pursuant to Rule 60A-1.042of the Florida Administrative Code (“F.A.C.”), an agency may request information from the business community by issuing a written RFI. Agencies may use a RFI to determine whether to competitively procure commodities or contractual services; which solicitation process to use for a particular need; or to determine general, special, and/or technical specifications to be included in a solicitation. A vendor’s response to an RFI is not an offer and shall not be used to justify a contract with that vendor without otherwise complying with chapter 287, Florida Statutes (“F.S.”), and Rule 60A-1, F.A.C. Vendors submitting a response to an agency’s RFI are not prohibited from responding to any related subsequent solicitation.

Any future purchase of the services will be conducted in accordance with chapter 287, F.S. The Department may use response(s) to this RFI to prepare one (1) or more competitive solicitations and as the basis for any subsequent vendor meetings.

V. Procurement Officer.

Amy Jones, Purchasing Director Department of Financial Services Email: DFSPurchasing@myfloridacfo.com

This contact person is the only authorized individual to respond to RFI comments and questions. If you contact any other individual within the Department, your response will be excluded from review.

mailto:DFSPurchasing@myfloridacfo.com

VI. RFI Process.

Vendor responses to this RFI will be reviewed by the Department for informational purposes only and will not result in the award of a contract. The Department will review the responses to determine the feasibility of issuing a competitive solicitation. Any request for cost information is for budgetary purposes only. If necessary, the Department may ask to hold presentations with one

(1) or more of the responding vendors. Responding to this RFI does not prevent a vendor from being eligible to contract with another agency pursuant to section 287.057(19)(c), F.S., and does not guarantee any respondent a contract

VII. Response Instructions.

Vendor responses should be organized in tabbed sections as indicated below. Responses should be no more than 75 pages in length. DO NOT INCLUDE MARKETING LITERATURE AS PART

OF YOUR RESPONSE.

VIII. Response Format.

1. Tab 1 – Introduction:

Provide a cover letter including the vendor’s primary point of contact for this RFI and their contact information (name, title, address, telephone number(s), and email address).

2. Tab 2 – Requested Information and Responses:

Responses to this RFI should indicate how a vendor would facilitate payment to unclaimed property claimants that would provide unclaimed property claimants the fastest and most efficient form of payment as requested herein.

In addition, responses should include narratives and documents addressing the following statements and questions:

1. Provide a summary of your organization and its history.

2. Describe the payment/disbursement methods your organization offers and supports.

3. Describe the benefits to Florida’s unclaimed property claimants by using the payment/disbursement methods that your organization offers.

4. Describe how your business model is adaptive to new/changing technologies and new/changing disbursement methods.

5. Describe how claimants will access their funds pursuant to your proposed business model.

6. Describe your pricing structure for the payment/disbursement methods that you offer and what fees are generally associated with each method.

7. Are your payment methods insured? If so, by whom?

8. Provide a summary of your organization’s fraud management process (e.g., prevention, detection, and resolution).

9. How does your organization respond to cyber security incidents (e.g., hacked debits cards, phishing attempts)?

10. If you are a bank, do you partner with any third-party payment applications such as PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, Zelle, or others? If you do, describe each third-party payment provider with whom you partner and the extent of your relationship.

11. If you are not a bank, do you partner with a bank(s) to deliver your services? If so, describe your relationship with the bank(s).

12. Does your organization provide for both batch and web capabilities for account setup/enrollment? If so, describe the enrollment process.

13. Does your payment process allow the option to pass enrollment information via encrypted direct file transmission or via secure online website? If so, describe this process.

14. Do you have dedicated technical staff available to resolve/remediate file transfer issues?

15. Describe your organization’s technical support of payment disbursement issues.

16. Do your payment/disbursement methods have the capability to customize the look and feel of the product or materials to reflect organizational relevance and branding? If so, describe which payment/disbursement methods have the capability and the extent of such capability.

17. Provide a summary of your organization’s customer service support and delivery.

18. What days and hours do you offer online customer support (e.g., 24/7/365)?

19. Do your services, including data processing and hosting, occur within the contiguous United

States? If not, list those locations where your services are provided outside of the contiguous United States.

20. Are all your customer support call centers that would be taking calls regarding the services located in the contiguous United States? If not, list those locations where your call centers are located outside of the contiguous United States.

21. Include sample terms and conditions for review.

22. Does your organization provide payment validation services to ensure payments are received by the intended recipient? If so, describe those payment validation services offered.

23. Is your organization able to integrate with other applications to share payment information? If so, describe the extent of these services.

24. Do you work with any other government agencies? If so, which government agencies?

25. On average, how long does it take to implement your payment/disbursement methods?

3. Tab 3 – Optional Information and Features:

Optional information may be provided to the Department by the vendor. Vendors may describe any additional or optional features that the vendor is capable of delivering within its solution or that would be helpful to the Department in evaluating whether, and how, to contract with a private sector service provider for services described in this RFI.

4. Tab 4 – Sample Pricing Information:

Provide general pricing information (not a specific price quote) for variables impacting the price, and other fees/charges for the solution(s). Additionally, provide specific details about how the vendor will be compensated for the services provided.

IX. Response Submission.

Please submit an electronic copy of your response, via email, to the Procurement Officer identified in Section V. Responses should be received by the Department no later than the time and date noted in Section XIII, Timeline.

Responses must reference the RFI No.: 2223-01 RFI UP in the subject line of the email response submission.

The vendor should include a redacted copy of the original response, if applicable.

X. Presentations.

At the sole discretion of the Department, one (1) or more vendors may be selected to demonstrate to the Department the vendor’s products and services relating to the information submitted in the RFI response.

XI. Question and Answer Period.

Questions regarding this RFI shall be submitted in writing via email to the Procurement Office identified in Section V by the date and time specified in Section XIII below or as amended by the Department. Questions will not be answered by telephone. The Department will post answers to questions received on the Vendor Information Portal (“VIP”) by the date and time specified in the timeline below.

XII. Addenda or Changes to the RFI.

The Department reserves the right to make changes to this RFI by posting addenda on the VIP. It is the vendor’s responsibility to check for any posted addenda on the VIP.

XIII. Timeline.

The following timeline details the dates and times that tasks should be completed during this RFI process. This timeline will be strictly adhered to in all actions relative to this RFI. If the Department finds it necessary to update any of the dates and times, it will issue an addenda to the RFI. All times listed below are in Eastern Time (ET) in Tallahassee, Florida.

Timeline Event Date

Event Time

Location

Release of RFI 8/25/2023 4:00 PM Posted to VIP Submission of Written Questions

9/14/2023 2:00 PM DFSPurchasing@myfloridacfo.com

Answers to Submitted Questions

9/28/2023 N/A Posted to VIP

Responses due to the Procurement Officer

10/19/2023 3:00 PM DFSPurchasing@myfloridacfo.com

XIV. Disclosure of Response Contents.

All documentation submitted as a response to the RFI will become the exclusive property of the Department and will not be returned to the vendor. Responses received by the Department may be disclosed pursuant to a public records request.

XV. Confidential Responses Materials and Redacted Submissions.

If your company considers any portion of the documents, data, or records submitted in response to this RFI to be trade secret, in order to preserve the confidentiality of the material, you must clearly mark the document as “Trade Secret” and simultaneously provide the Department with a separate, redacted copy with only the trade secret portions of the document redacted and a brief description of the grounds for claiming exemption from public disclosure, including the specific statutory citation for the exemption.

In the event of a public records request, request for production, subpoena, or other demand for records, to which documents that are marked as “Trade Secret” are responsive, the Department will provide the redacted copy to the requestor. If a requestor asserts a right to the trade secret information, the Department will notify the vendor that such an assertion has been made prior to releasing the information (unless otherwise prohibited by applicable law or court order). It is the vendor’s responsibility to assert that the information in question is exempt from disclosure under chapter 119, F.S., or other applicable law. The vendor is responsible for defending its determination that the redacted portions of its documents, data, or records are trade secret.

By submitting a response to this RFI, the vendor agrees to protect, defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Department for any and all claims arising from or relating to the vendor’s determination that the redacted portions of its response are trade secret.

If the vendor fails to mark material as “Trade Secret” or fails to submit a redacted copy of information it claims is trade secret, the Department is authorized to produce, in their entirety, all documents, data, and records submitted to the Department in answer to a public records request, request for production, subpoena, or other demand for records without notice to the vendor.

XVI. Vendor Costs.

Vendors are responsible for all costs associated with the preparation, submission, and any potential meeting to discuss this RFI. The State of Florida, Department, or the Division will not be responsible for any vendor related costs associated with responding to this RFI.

XVII. Special Accommodations.

Any person requiring a special accommodation due to a disability should contact the Department’s Procurement Officer. Requests for accommodation for meetings must be made at least five (5) business says prior to the meeting. A person who is hearing or speech impaired can contact the Procurement Office by using the Florida Relay Services at (800) 955-8771 (TDD).

Certified Business Enterprises certified pursuant to section 287.0943, Florida Statutes, are encouraged to participate in the RFI process.