Ready-to-Use Commercial Card RFP



[Employer Logo]

[Date]

Request for Proposal

• Comprehensive Pay Card Program

• Electronic Wage Statements [NOTE: Optional]

I. Introduction 3

A. [Employer] Overview 3

B. Existing Payroll Process 3

C. Program Objectives 3

D. Evaluation Criteria 3

II. RFP Process 4

A. Contacts 4

B. Timeline 4

C. Organization Overview 5

D. Experience 5

E. Pay Card Products and Services 6

F. Electronic Wage Statements and W2 7

G. Implementation and Operations 8

H. Technical Requirements 9

I. Adoption 10

J. Compliance 10

K. Employer Support and Services 11

L. Employee Support and Services 12

M. Costs to Employer 12

N. Costs to Employee 12

Introduction

[Provider] is invited to propose a comprehensive pay card program and electronic wage statement solution for [Employer].

1 [Employer] Overview

[Brief company description that includes industry, products/services, business model, employee demographics, locations and geographic distribution, etc.]

2 Existing Payroll Process

[Employer] has an existing electronic payment solution in place, as described below. When preparing your proposal, please consider the following data:

[Description of existing direct deposit participation, pay card program and electronic wage statements, if any.]

3 Program Objectives

[Employer]’s primary objectives for implementing a pay card program are ranked below:

1. Cost savings (Employer and employee fees)

2. Capabilities and experience

3. Operational model

4. Ease of implementation

5. Relationship management

6. Compliance

7. Other:

4 Evaluation Criteria

[Employer] will evaluate all proposals based on the following criteria:

1. [Criterion 1] XX%

2. [Criterion 2] XX%

3. [Criterion 3] XX%

4. [Criterion 4] XX%

5. [Criterion 5] XX%

RFP Process

This RFP is not an offer to contract with any bidder. [Employer] is not responsible for any costs associated with replying to this RFP. [Employer] reserves the right to enter into an agreement with any provider or no provider at its sole discretion.

All information provided in this RFP is considered proprietary and confidential and may not be shared except for the purpose of completing a response to this RFP. [Employer] will maintain all response information confidentially and will not disclose to any third party.

1 Contacts

Submit all questions, responses and exhibits to the primary contact listed below and copy the secondary contact.

| |Primary Contact |Secondary Contact |

|Name | | |

|Title | | |

|Email address | | |

|Address | | |

|Direct Line | | |

3 Timeline

|Release of Request |[Date] |

|[Provider] Acknowledges Intent to Submit a Response |[Date] |

|Vendor Question Deadline |[Date] |

|RFP Responses Due |[Date] |

|Vendor Presentations |[Date] |

|Selection Announced |[Date] |

|Work Completion Date |[Date] |

Response Requirements: For ease of evaluation, all vendors are required to submit their responses via [electronic, hardcopy etc.] by [vendor responses date]

RFP Questionnaire

4 Organization Overview

1 Please provide your company’s full legal name, address and phone number

2 Please provide the names of the key provider contacts who will manage the proposal process.

| |Primary Contact |Secondary Contact |

|Name | | |

|Title | | |

|Email address | | |

|Address | | |

|Direct Line | | |

|Mobile Phone | | |

3 Please provide a brief summary overview of your organization and proposed offering. Include any additional information, not requested below, that we should consider when evaluating your proposal.

4 Please describe your ownership structure.

5 Is your company profitable? Please provide high level financial key performance indicators.

6 Describe your primary business focus and explain how pay cards fit into your organization’s portfolio of products and services.

• How will you keep the product current and competitive?

What new services or features do you plan to offer and within what time frame?

8 What differentiates your service from that of other providers?

9 If any components of your pay card offering are subcontracted, please describe in detail how you manage the relationship with the subcontractor.

10 Which Networks do you partner with to provide pay cards (Visa, MasterCard, Discover)?

11 Who is the issuing Bank on your program?

12 Describe any additional partnerships or alliances you have in place that may benefit [Employer].

5 Experience

1 How many years has your company been in business? How many years have you offered payroll cards?

2 Please list [Provider] clients that are similar to [Employer] in size, industry, organizational structure, etc.:

3 How many paycards do you currently process with a payroll load each month?

4 What was the gross dollar value of payroll loads to your cards last year?

5 Provide three or more references if not listed above.

6 Pay Card Products & Services

1 Is your card program processed in-house, is processing outsourced, or is the program offered through a third-party?

    a. If outsourced or offered through a third-party, identify the vendor/partner.

    b. How long has the vendor/partner been delivering a pay card or other type of stored-value product?

2 Describe the pay card network(s) for:

1 ATM

2 POS

3 Bank Withdrawal

4 Other (specify)

3 What choices do you offer employees to receive 100% of their pay in a single, free transaction?

4 What other free access to funds do you offer employees?

5 Is your pay card signature-cased, PIN based, or both?

6 Is your pay card product branded (e.g., Visa, MasterCard, Discover) or non-branded?

7 Which brand do you offer, Visa, Master Card, or Discover? Why?

8 Can the card be customized to include company logos or artwork?

9 What ATM networks are you associated with?

10 How many ATMs are available to employees surcharge free. Additionally, are these ATM’s available in all 50 states? How do employees find the surcharge free ATMs?

11 Can the employee receive an over the counter cash withdrawal at a bank branch? If yes, what is the fee?

12 Does the cardholder have the option of a savings account? If so, is it interest bearing?

13 Describe how employees access and manage their card accounts.

14 Are “instant issue cards” available for off-cycle payments and termination pay? If so, please describe the process for funding these cards.

15 Can the employee transfer funds from the card into a traditional checking account or another type of account? Please explain.

16 To what extent are employee funds FDIC insured? Is the coverage individual?

17 How are cards activated?

18 Can the cardholder select and establish the PIN? If yes, what are the procedures involved with this process?

19 Can a secondary card (for a spouse, dependent, etc.) be issued with a different name?

20 Do you offer check writing ability? If yes, how does the cardholder obtain check stock?

21 Must the employee activate their pay card prior to using the checks?

22 Does check writing require pre-authorization? If yes, describe how the pre-authorization is accomplished.

23 Are the paycards portable? Can cardholder’s take the card when and if they leave our company?

24 If an employee works multiple jobs, can funds be deposited from other employers?

25 Do you offer a rewards program to cardholder’s? Please describe.

26 Do you have a mobile app? Please describe.

27 Do you offer text and email alerts? Please describe.

28 Can the employee get cash-back from a merchant? If so, please explain the process and any fees involved.

29 Describe your lost/stolen card replacement process and to what extent [Employer] resources are involved. Describe the employee experience and associated fees.

30 Do you offer online bill pay? Please explain how Employees can pay their bills using the card? Can they pay a bill to any biller?

31 Please explain the consumer protection available to the cardholder.

32 Describe your overdraft policy. Can employees enroll in overdraft protection products? If so, disclose the fee structure.

33 Who is liable for the overdraft if uncollectible?

34 In what format (paper or electronic) are their transaction statements available?

35 Please describe the process for maintaining inventory of cards at each workplace location.

7 Electronic Wage Statements & W2’s

1 Do you offer Electronic Wage Statements?

2 Are your wage statements fully integrated to your paycards or provided by a third party? If so, please describe.

3 Are electronic wage statements available to all employees or only paycard employees?

4 Describe how employees can access the electronic wage statement information. How can they obtain a printed hardcopy?

5 Do you offer electronic W2? If so, please describe.

6 Do you manage the consent tracking for electronic W-2?

7 Do you offer the option to print and mail W2s?

8 Describe the technical integration requirements to offer Electronic Wage Statements and W2s.

9 Please describe the state and federal regulations that apply and the processes you have in place to obtain and maintain compliance for electronic wage statements and W2s.

8 Implementations & Operations

1 What is your best-practice approach to launching a pay card program? To what extent can pay card participation be mandatory for employees?

2 Describe the typical implementation timeline for initiatives of similar size and industry?

3 What resources are required by [Employer] in a program launch?

4 What services and support do you offer clients during the launch?

5 What type of marketing materials and/or support will you provide?

6 During initial implementation, what data needs to be loaded into your system in order to proceed with the launch?

7 Does the payroll department need to use a routing number in addition to an account number?

8 Describe the enrollment process.

9 Describe the card loading process and options.

10 How are initial cards ordered for the employee cardholders? Describe the process and include whether cards can be ordered via the Internet or in a batch method.

11 Can the employee receive their first pay on the payroll debit card on their first day of employment? If there is a waiting period, please explain the process? Will [EMPLOYER] need to provide the employee a check for the first cycle?

12 How long does it take to get the payments into the employee’s account (posting)?

13 Is there a minimum/maximum payment limit?

14 Is there a limit on the number of payroll transactions that can be loaded on a cardholder's card in one month? Explain.

15 Are there any limitations on the dollar amount that may be withdrawn in one transaction on an individual card? In one day?

16 Do regular ACH rules apply to the payroll card (i.e. single entry reversals within five days of settlement date, federal banking days, etc.)?

17 Can we commingle the pay card transactions we transmit in the same file with our direct deposit or similar ACH transaction data?

18 Are all pay card types embossed with the employee’s name? Note exceptions, if any.

19 What is the process for updating payroll system records when a card is upgraded to a personalized card or replaced?

20 Will balances from lost/stolen cards be automatically transferred to the new card?

21 Can [EMPLOYER] make adjustment payments (in between regular payroll cycles) and if yes, how is this achieved?

22 How are overpayments handled?

23 What happens when an employee is terminated? How is pay administered?

24 What happens to inactive cards, or cards that still have balances left?

25 Explain how off-cycle adjustments are performed.

26 Can you accept batch transmission and how does that affect timelines?

27 Does your system provide electronic confirmation of receipt for daily file transmissions?

28 Will your system prevent duplicate loads from being submitted?

29 Describe your identity validation process? Do all [EMPLOYER] employees qualify to receive a card? How do you handle exceptions?

9 Technical Requirements

1 Please describe the technical specifications (requirements) [EMPLOYER] would need to integrate into our current payroll system that would allow us to implement your Payroll Debit Card Program. Please cover both ACH direct deposit and batch options if available.

2 What are the technical requirements for enrollment?

3 How often does your transaction processing platform load/process files?

4 What are the technical requirements for accessing electronic reports?

5 Do you offer a transaction management and reporting tool for [EMPLOYER] management of the program. Please describe if this tool is web based or if it requires software on our current systems.

6 Describe the security infrastructure on your transaction processing platform. For example, what measures are taken to protect the confidentiality of transaction information?

7 Please include a description of your system backup and disaster recovery process for your transaction processing platform.

8 If your systems are down, can employees access their money via ATM and POS?

9 What is your system transaction processing bandwidth and current capacity?

10 Describe your fraud prevention tools and how they are configured. For example, how many variables can be set? Are there varying levels within each parameter?

11 What happens when a cardholder triggers a pre-set transaction or amount limit? Can limits be changed in real time?

12 How many electronic payment transactions do your process? Describe the scalability of your transaction processing platform.

13 Explain policies for new software releases and updates.

14 Are there system constraints? Please explain.

15 What support do you provide for recreating files that may have been corrupted, lost or destroyed?

10 Adoption

1 Please describe your strategy and best practices for maximizing adoption

2 Describe the enrollment process for existing employees at the time of launch.

3 Describe the enrollment process for new hires

4 How do you ensure ongoing adoption results and retention?

5 Which deployment option, i.e., Voluntary, Mandatory, etc. do you recommend? Please explain.

6 Describe your training process and support.

11 Compliance

1 Please describe the state and federal regulations that apply and the processes you have in place to obtain and maintain compliance of your pay card programs.

2 Who manages escheatment for pay card funds? To what extent are [Employer] resources involved?

3 Describe how you ensure Regulation E compliance.

4 Provide certification of PCI Compliance (Exhibit II).

5 Provide certification that your SSAE 16 audit is current (Exhibit III).

6 Will you indemnify our company and resolve any state compliance issues if challenged?

7 How do you comply with the verification requirements of the Patriot Act?

8 How do you comply with states’ unique paycard consent requirements?

9 Who owns the card account? Is the employer held liable?

10 What liability, if any, does a cardholder have for fraud? If applicable, provide examples of scenarios that would trigger the liability.

11 What liability, if any, does the employer have for fraud? If applicable, provide examples of scenarios that would trigger the liability.

12 Can overdrafts occur? Explain the circumstances in which overdrafts can occur and what you do to mitigate the possibility of overdrafts.

12 Employer Support & Services

1 What are the client support daily hours of operation? What provisions do you have for afterhours support?

2 How do you handle client emergencies?

3 What process or procedure do you follow for tracking and communicating problems and their resolutions?

4 Describe the level of customer service provided to clients.

5 What channels are utilized to administer employer support? (telephone, web, email, etc)

6 How are you staffed to support IT departments with production, integration and testing issues?

7 Do you offer custom reporting? If so, please describe the types of reporting that are offered.

8 What are your best practices for training managers?

9 Will [EMPLOYER] have a named Account Manager throughout the process?

10 Do you offer phone and email support? If so, please describe.

11 Do you offer Web support? If so, please describe.

12 Do you offer real-time web loading for exception pay? (Yes/No)

13 Employee Support & Services

1 What are the customer service daily hours of operation? What provisions do you have for afterhours support?

2 Describe your customer service options and availability (phone, web, email, fax, IVR, multiple languages)

3 Is your call center located in the continental US or outside the US?

4 Describe your call center disaster recovery and business continuity plan? Do you have multiple call centers?

5 What is your process for managing quality control for disaster recovery initiatives?

6 Provide metrics to support customer service satisfaction provided by your company.

7 Can you customize call center scripts for individual client populations?

8 Detail the dispute process for pay card holders.

9 Please explain your escalation process for employees.

10 Describe your Service Level Standards for live customer service.

11 Describe your customer service capacity plan to support the [EMPLOYER] volume.

14 Costs to Employer

1 Are there enrollment fees? If so, what are they?

2 What is the fee for each new or replacement card and who pays for it?

3 What are the costs for account reconciliation?

4 What are the costs associated with marketing materials?

5 How will our company be billed for services?

6 Are their special handling/shipping charges fees associated with the program?

7 What is the implementation fee for launching a program?

15 Costs to Employee

1 Provide a full cardholder fee schedule

2 Describe any fees not covered by the fee table.

3 The fees in this proposal are guaranteed for how many years?

4 How and when are cardholders notified of a price increase or changes to their card account?

-----------------------

Complimentary Template Provided by

FSV Payment Systems



American Payroll Association



The following RFP template, provided by FSV Payment Systems and the American Payroll Association, is intended for use by employers implementing a comprehensive pay card program for U.S. employees. As electronic distribution of wage statements is required to maximize the cost savings associated with adopting electronic pay, an optional section on electronic wage statements is included.

Using the Template

1. Review and delete sections that do not apply to your organization.

2. Replace bracketed items.

3. Delete blue text boxes.

( When the RFP is complete, update the Table of Contents. Right-click in the existing Table of Contents and choose, “Update field,” followed by “Update entire table”.

[pic]

( Revise or re-rank objectives according to organizational priorities

( State your criteria in order of importance or provide a scorecard/evaluation matrix

( This section may be removed if you are not interested in outsourcing ePayStubs

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download