RFP 2026-P16 Tax Assessor-Collector, Credit Card Processing Services

Hays County Purchasing Office is requesting proposals for credit card processing services for the Tax Assessor-Collector's Office, with proposals due July 6, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Central Time and a hard-copy requirement within 24 hours of electronic submission through BidNet Direct. This is an all-or-nothing, single-vendor procurement with no subcontracting permitted.

The scope encompasses credit card, debit card, and electronic check processing for property tax, motor vehicle sales tax, vehicle inventory tax, court costs, and other fee collections across four physical branch locations (Dripping Springs, Kyle, San Marcos, and Wimberley) and online payment channels. The vendor must integrate with the County's Tyler ERP system and new Appraisal and Collection Technologies platform; achieve TxDMV RTS certification within 90 days of award; provide point-of-sale systems with multilingual support; and support in-person and online payments. Required capabilities include PCI-DSS compliance, chargeback and dispute handling, daily and end-of-month reconciliation, custom reporting accessible to both the Tax Assessor-Collector and County Auditor, redundant processing and backup capabilities, and client services availability from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday with same-day response times. Vendors must disclose prior security breaches, document security measures for data transmission, submit implementation and training schedules, and provide financial condition statements.

The initial contract term runs from September 2026 through August 2028, with four optional two-year renewal periods. Pricing should follow an "interchange plus" model with firm and fixed pricing for the contract term except for industry-wide rate changes approved by the County. All costs are borne by taxpayers through convenience fees; the County bears no separate expense reimbursement obligations.

Evaluation criteria are cost (20 points), organizational profile and experience (20 points), and capacity to perform (60 points). Vendors must provide three references from entities of similar size within the last five years. Written questions are due June 24, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. The anticipated award date is September 2026.