S000000392 Commercial Card Services Questions and Answers - 05.02.25 - FINAL.pdf

Question# Solicitation Section Question Response

1 Section 2.2 B2 Describes Individual liability. Is this a strict requirement and is the cardholder also responsible to the underlying credit of the card that they possess?

Yes, this is a requirement. The cardholder is responsible for all charges and fees associated with the card. No special handling is required; it should be managed according to your bank’s standard procedures for individual liability cards.

2 Section 2.2 C Indicates the rebate is paid on the entire program and paid to the State. Does this also indicate the State will be responsible to distribute the rebate to the participants?

Yes

3a. Section 2.2 C 2 Could you better clarify a physical rebate as mentioned here? Is this indicating a payment or the accounting of the rebate calculation.

This refers to the bank's ability to issue payments to the State either by warrant or ACH transfer.

3b. Section 2.2 C 2 If what is meant is a physical rebate payment, will this be a strict requirement? Yes, this is a requirement.

4 2.2 G The exception of Individual Liability Cardholders further indicates the Stateâ??s desire to have cardholders personally responsible for the credit on these cards. Will this requirement preclude a provider from consideration for award?

No

5 2.2 H Commercial Card Program activity must not shop up on Authorized Participantâ??s or Cardholderâ??s personal credit history. Does this section exclude Individual liability in the same context as 2.2 G?

No

6 2.2 H 1 The individual Authorized Participant or Cardholder Account shall not be reported to the credit bureau agencies. Does this section exclude Individual liability in the same context as 2.2 G?

No

7a. 2.4

The questions in this section indicate the States desire to have a single instance of the programâ??s management system to administer changes. Does this also indicate that all participants will exist under a single program instance vs each participant having their own individual system instance?

Yes

7b. 2.4

To further clarify, itâ??s understood the participants can be separated by entity under a single instance of the management system. If it is the Stateâ??s desire to have a single instance of the program built with segments for each participant, is the State also willing to provide the underlying credit for each participant?

Higher Education institutions, as well as cities, counties, and local municipalities, will provide their own credit.

8 2.10 G Is a sandbox site as described a strict requirement of the provider and its ability to win the bid?

Yes, this is a requirement.

9 2.13 A Is 45 day settlement a strict requirement of the bid or will alternatives be entertained based on rebate potential?

See Section 2.13.A. of the RFP document.

Technical Proposal

Packet Would the state consider extending the page limit on the Solution response? No

Technical Proposal packet -

RECOMMENDED

OPTIONS FORM

Does the state have a page limit for the Recommended Options form?

No. Prosepective contractor may add as many pages necessary to present their

Recommended Options.

1.8 RESPONSE

DOCUMENTS

Regarding the following statement, Prospective Contractors should not include any other documents or ancillary information, such as a cover letter or promotional/marketing information, will the state allow Exhibits as part of the Technical response.

Per the Technical Proposal Packet, the Prospective Contractor must use the page limits as determined for each Section. Anything else included (i.e., website links, exhibits, etc.) that will exceed the page limits set forth in the Technical Proposal Packet, will not be considered.

S000000392 Commercial Card Services Written Questions and Answers

Written Questions and Answers

13a.

1.3 BACKGROUND

AND CURRENT

ENVIRONMENT

Considering the dynamic components of interchange in the commercial card industry, it is to the advantage of all respondents to understand the spend profile of a program when preparing a competitive financial model. For that reason, we have the following questions:

â?¢ Would you please provide the 2024 Level III spend for all Participants combined?

The State has provided the overall spend in Attachment B; additional spend information will not be provided at this time.

13b.

1.3 BACKGROUND

AND CURRENT

ENVIRONMENT

â?¢ Would you please provide Large Ticket spend for all Participants combined? See answer to 13a.

13c.

1.3 BACKGROUND

AND CURRENT

ENVIRONMENT

â?¢ Would you please provide the 2024 International spend for all Participants combined?

See answer to 13a.

13d.

1.3 BACKGROUND

AND CURRENT

ENVIRONMENT

â?¢ Would you please provide the 2024 Network Negotiated spend for all Participants combined?

See answer to 13a.

13e.

1.3 BACKGROUND

AND CURRENT

ENVIRONMENT

â?¢ Would you please provide the total 2024 Amazon spend for all Participants combined?

See answer to 13a.

14a.

2.2 GENERAL

REQUIREMENTS

How many individual liability cards does the state and user agency have today?

The State does not currently have any Individual Liability Cards. Since this program may be extended to cities, counties, and local municipalities, we are requiring that this option be made available.

14b.

2.2 GENERAL

REQUIREMENTS

What products are utilized for individual liability cards? See answer to 14a.

15a.

2.2 GENERAL

REQUIREMENTS

How many contingent liability cards does the state and user agency have today? See answer to 14a.

15b.

2.2 GENERAL

REQUIREMENTS

What products are utilized for contingent liability cards? See answer to 14a.

2.2 GENERAL

REQUIREMENTS

Rebate â?? would the state allow a financial proposal to be submitted in addition to completing the required Official Solicitation Rebate Form?

No

Attachment B â??

Spend by Agency

Can the state provide the average File Turn or Client Held performance for state departments and User Agencies for 2024?

This information is not available.

Attachment B â??

Spend by Agency

Can the state please provide additional detail as to when the following entities pay their current statement after cycle closes? Seeking additional payment information for:

AR Department of Transportation, AR Department of Human Services, University of Arkansas Layetteville, University of Arkansas Little Rock, Southern Arkansas University

See answer to 17.

Written Questions and Answers

TABLE A: TENTATIVE

SOLICITATION

SCHEDULE

We understand that the state would like to have a new contract in place by August 1st.

With that in mind, please tell us when the proposed rebate from the new provider would take effect.

Rebate calculations shall begin on the effective date of the contract or upon the processing of the first eligible transaction under the program, whichever occurs later. The Contractor shall ensure that all qualifying spend from that point forward is included in rebate reporting and applied toward the rebate calculation. Rebate payments must align with the frequency and structure outlined in the contract, regardless of transaction volume during the initial period.

Official Solicitation

Rebate Form Can the state please define what it considers Non-Standard spend? No, see Technical Proposal Packet - Information About Transaction Definitions and Items.

Official Solicitation

Rebate Form Can the state please tell us what criteria they have today with the current provider to identify what transactions qualify for the Non-Standard Volume rebate

See answer to 17.

Official Solicitation

Rebate Form

We understand that Average Prompt Payment Incentive is 30 points for the Grand Total Score. With that in mind, would the state object to offering a File Turn Grid that has negative basis points after 30 days on the Speed of Pay Grid?

No

Official Solicitation

Rebate Form We understand that the Rebate Form cannot be modified. How should providers address additional fees, such as overnight fees, International Fees, etc?

See Section 2.2 D of the RFP document.

Official Solicitation

Rebate Form How many overnight deliveries did the state and User Agencies have in 2024? See answer to 17.

Official Solicitation

Rebate Form How many paper statements were delivered to the state and User agencies in 2024? See answer to 17.

Official Solicitation

Rebate Form What does the current provider charge for Foreign Transaction fees today? See answer to 17.

Official Solicitation

Rebate Form When does the current Commercial Card contract expire? See answer to 17.

Official Solicitation

Rebate Form How is rebate distributed today? (Quarterly, annually?) Annually.

Official Solicitation

Rebate Form

Regarding the Official Solicitation Rebate Form, can it be confirmed that is it the intent of the consortium to offer the following:

a. Rebate based on total Standard Aggregated Volume,

b. Rebate based on total Non-Standard Aggregated Volume,

c. Speed-of-Pay Rebate based on each Individual Participantâ??s File Turn Days

See Section 3.3 Rebate Score of the RFP document.

3.5 EXPLANATION OF

THE SUBSECTIONS OF

THE TECHNICAL

PROPOSAL

D. Interview: Regarding the requirement of having (1) Project Lead for the interview â??

would the state consider three to four representatives from the bank for the interview?

The State will consider aditional representatives at the time interviews are scheduled.

RFP Section 1.3 Background and

Current Environment

Is it acceptable to the OSP that, in order to comply with federal regulation related to anti-terrorism and internal policies, the Bank will need to review each Participating Entity prior to extending Commercial Card Services?

Yes.

Written Questions and Answers

RFP Section

1.8(B)(2)(c)(iii) Response Documents

Does the requirement that rebates not be subject to revision, except where expressly required by federal or state law, apply to the initial contract term of two (2) years only or the entirety of the total aggregate contract term of seven (7) years?

See Section 1.8.B.2.c.iii, of the RFP document.

RFP Sections 1.8(B)(4), 4.2(I), and 4.2(J) â??

Additional Documents;

General Terms and

Conditions

Please confirm our understanding that if a vendor is selected to further proceed in the RFP process, there will an opportunity to discuss and further negotiate the legal contract as set out in SRV-1. If selected to further proceed in the RFP process, the vendor will work with the OSP to negotiate a contract beneficial to both parties.

Yes

RFP Section 2.2(B)

General Requirements Does the State intend to implement an Individual Liability card program? No

RFP Section 2.2(C)

General Requirements Is it acceptable to OSP if a rebate payment is contingent upon the transaction meeting the Bankâ??s eligibility requirements for rebates?

Yes.

RFP Section 2.2(F)

General Requirements Is it possible to define the scope of the assistance the Bank will provide the State with modifying and/or enhancing the Stateâ??s existing Commercial Card Program policies?

Per the Technical Reponse Packet - Recommended Options , Prospective Contractors should identify optional recommended services available to the State, along with the schedule impact and cost details of each item.

RFP Section 2.2(J)

General Requirements Given the Bankâ??s strict regulatory obligations related to audits of our premises and data, can you please help us to better understand the Stateâ??s audit standards?

See the revised RFP document, 2.2 J.

RFP Section 2.5(T) Data Collection and

Management Requirements

Is it acceptable to the OSP if the Bank follows its standard notification process for system updates?

Yes

RFP Section 2.5(V) Data Collection and

Management Requirements

Is it acceptable to the OSP that the Bank must maintain a uniform platform and requires certain systematic updates of all customers?

Yes

RFP Section 2.8(C) Security and

Confidentiality Requirements

Is it acceptable to the OSP if the Bank shares or uses data when aggregated or deidentified, as necessary to provide the services or to comply with applicable law?

Yes

RFP Section 2.11(C) Card

Design/Embossing, Delivery and Activation

Requirements

Is it acceptable to the OSP if Bank endeavors to deliver physical cards within two (2) business days of completion of account set up, given that the Bank is reliant upon USPS and other contingencies outside of Bankâ??s control to effectuate delivery?

See Section 2.11.C of the RFP document.

Written Questions and Answers

RFP Section 2.11(E) Card

Design/Embossing, Delivery and Activation

Requirements

Is it acceptable to the OSP if some of the customization options appear on the back side of the card?

Yes

RFP Section 2.13(A)

Payment Terms Is it acceptable to the OSP to consider a 30-day payment cycle? See Section 2.13.A. of the RFP document.

RFP Section 2.13(H)

Payment Terms Is it acceptable to the OSP that payments sent via mail are considered paid on the date the payment posts?

Yes

RFP Section 2.14

Liability Requirements Is it the OSPâ??s position that liability for fraudulent use includes liability arising from employee misuse?

See Section 2.14 of the RFP document.

RFP Section 4.4(E)(i) General Terms and

Conditions

Is it acceptable to the OSP that only reporting prepared by the Bank and provided to OSP will become OSPâ??s property? The Bank retains its rights and those of its vendors to software and other technical data that it uses to provide services generally to its clients.

The Bank uses such software and data in accordance with its standard services terms, such as the Treasury Services Terms and Conditions, User Documentation, and related agreements.

See Section 4.2.E of the RFP document.

RFP Section 4.2(F) Procurement Card Payment Method

Please clarify whether the OSP would like to use its procurement card as a payment method or utilize ACH as the exclusive payment method to make payments to vendor (RFP Section 4.2.B).

We do not anticipate making any payments to the vendor.

S392 Q&A