Banking for Unemployment BenefitsBid Documents

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development is requesting proposals for banking and financial services to support the state's Unemployment Insurance program, with proposals due November 30, 2026 at 3:00 PM ET and a pre-proposal conference on October 28, 2026 at 9:30 AM ET in Indianapolis (in-person and virtual options available). The resulting contract carries a six-year term and a 3% Indiana Veteran Owned Small Business (IVOSB) subcontracting goal; the RFP also establishes a 10% Indiana Small Business Program (INSBP) subcontracting goal. Both goals require Valuable Scope Contribution directly related to solicitation requirements, with respondents and subcontractors certified by the State of Indiana.

The scope encompasses stored value card (SVC) and direct deposit account management for unemployment benefit claimants across nine UI distribution programs, including account creation and maintenance, daily funding deposits, 24/7 customer service (IVR and live representatives), fraud detection, and an extensive ATM network within Indiana. The vendor must transition 100% of active cardholders to new accounts within 15 calendar days before cutover, achieving 99.99% accuracy. Critical performance standards include 98% account creation completion, 99% IVR answer rates within two seconds, 80% CSR answer rates within 60 seconds, and no more than 5% call abandonment. Non-compliance triggers administrative fees ranging from $200 to $5,000 per day depending on the standard violated. The contract requires compliance with Indiana Office of Technology Information Security Framework, SOC 2 Type II, PCI DSS, and GovRamp certification; vendors must address data encryption, role-based access control, FBI background checks for all service-delivery personnel, and business continuity and disaster recovery plans. State-owned cloud deployment (Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services) is strongly preferred; on-premises solutions require exception-based justification. Data ownership and storage must remain within U.S. data centers exclusively.

Evaluation allocates 50 points to Management Assessment/Quality, 30 points to Price, 5 points to Buy Indiana Initiative certification (if active at proposal submission), 5 points to IVOSB subcontractor commitment (plus potential 1-point bonus), and 5 points to INSBP subcontractor commitment (plus potential 1-point bonus). Pricing must remain firm for at least 180 days from award and include all taxes. Respondents must clear pass/fail mandatory requirements before technical and cost evaluation. Written questions are due November 4, 2026 at 3:00 PM ET, with responses posted by November 11, 2026. Reference Check Forms and three client references must submit by November 30, 2026 at 3:00 PM ET. Proposal discussions and oral presentations will occur December 7–14, 2026, with an Award Recommendation anticipated January 2, 2027.