RFP 2022 - #001 - Payment Processing

Request for Proposal



Date Issued:                                    Friday, February 25, 2022
                                   
Request from:                                 Infrastructure Health and Safety Association
                                                            21 Voyager Court South
                                                            Etobicoke, ON M9W 5M7

Contact:                                            Alan Hansen

Type of Service Required:          Payment Processing

Request for Proposal:                  This should be considered a formal procurement document in which a RFP for providing payment processing for IHSA.

Date Response Required:          

 2022 - #001
 








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Request for Proposal Checklist 
Infrastructure Health & Safety Association recommend that Proponents use the following checklist when completing the RFP to help ensure that all the key components to your organization’s proposal are submitted on time.  Documents must be delivered to the Project Representative by the dates and times set out below. 

Courier, E-Mail or Deliver By:
 Friday, March 25, 2022 2:00 pm EDT  

TO:

Alan Hansen
Manager Finance
21 Voyager Court South
Etobicoke, ON M9W 5M7

Submissions that are received after the closing time will be returned unopened.

Include all RFP materials, in one (1) package. 
The package should contain:
 

• One (1) envelope prominently marked “Original”  signed by an authorized representative in your organization and containing
  • one (1) printed original of all documents and exhibits in response to the RFP

 

• One (1) envelope marked “Copies”  and containing
  • three (3) copies of all documents and exhibits in response to the RFP

or
 

• • PDF Copy by e-mail   ahansen@ihsa.ca

Due to COVID-19 PDF is the preferred method of submission.


Proposals are to be prominently marked Confidential with the RFP title and number (see RFP cover), with the full legal name and return address of the Proponent, and with the Proposal Submission Deadline date and time.

Proposals submitted in any other manner may be disqualified.




Introduction 

1. Definitions 

“Proponent” wherever used shall mean RFP respondent/participant.

“Proposal” wherever used shall mean a Proponent’s written response to this RFP.

“RFP” wherever used shall mean this Request for Proposal.

“Copier” or “Photocopier” wherever used shall mean multifunctional devices that provide capabilities of any combination to photocopy and network print, mainframe print, scan, FAX, email or other additional capabilities, such as document management.
“BPS” as of April 2, 2012, IHSA is required to follow the Broader Public Sector (BPS) Procurement Directive.
 

2. Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities

The selected Proponent shall comply with the requirements for all relevant accessibility standards established by regulation under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005.
 

3. Background

           
The Infrastructure Health & Safety Association (IHSA) works with employers and workers in Ontario to eliminate occupational injury and illness. The membership of IHSA includes seven major industries: construction, transportation, electrical, utilities, aggregates, natural gas pipelines, and ready-mix concrete.
Office Locations:

Etobicoke
21 Voyager Court South
Etobicoke, ON M9W 5M7


Mississauga
5345 Creekbank Road
Mississauga, Ontario L4W 5L5

Ottawa
2515 St. Laurent Blvd.
Ottawa, ON K1H 8P5



Purpose and Intent of RFP
The purpose of this RFP is to solicit the best overall proposals for the provision of
 

4. Scope of Services

 

1. Scope of Work/Deliverables

The scope of this project is for the development of a payment processing site that will effectively serve IHSA’s members, key stakeholders, and members of the public as per the proposed services listed below. We are also interested in any other form of payment processing that would be beneficial to IHSA and the members/public that we support.

Requirements (Input and Output for Users)

• Reports by day, week and monthly – current timeline
• Reports – history at least one (1) year retained
• Ability to save and retain reports
• Clearly defined roles of users
• Dispute mechanism
• Receipts
• POS devices (currently use 2) – Interact, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Credit Card ability

Following reports for analytical purposes:
 

1. Sales summary
2. Monthly statements
3. Transaction details report – Require to reconcile daily

(1) Sales summary currently contain the following information (useful for future analytical purposes)

• • • Monthly summary
    • Daily summary

(2) Monthly statement report should contain:
 

• Sales Summary by Card type
• Interchange & Wholesale Discount Fees
• Assessment & Other Card Brand Fees
• Transaction Fees
• Service Fees
• Fee Summary
• Effective Merchant Discount Rate
• Monthly Summary
• Daily Activity Summary
• Financial Details
• Chargeback Summary
• Graph to show the Yearly sales (Your Monthly Net Sales Amounts (CAD))

(3) Transaction report contains: (daily reconciliation)
 

• Total by credit type
• Total purchases (approved)
• Total refunds (approved)
• Total Declined

    Transaction list:
ü  Date/Time
ü  Type of transaction
ü  Order ID (this is to link to our order number)
ü  Amount
ü  Customer ID (will help us to link our transaction)
ü  PAN (Card number First and last four digits of the credit card)
ü  Authorization code
ü  Result (approve/declined)
ü  User Name (it is useful to determine who is responsible for the manual transactions)

Report history (transaction history)
Currently, we are able to go back 18 months and refund the transaction.  Accessibility for a minimum of 18 months or more would be a great asset

Ability to save and retain reports
The option to import to an excel file would be a great asset.

Clearly defined roles of users:
We should clearly define who have the accessibility

• Void transaction accessibility
• Refund transaction accessibility
• Profile medication accessibility

Dispute Mechanism:

Currently we access the disputed and chargeback online and submit documents to review the case IHSA will require notification via email.  Full documentation is required on the dispute mechanism process.




Receipt:

Detail your process for receipt options. Full documentation to be forwarded. Option to send receipt to our client via e-email.

Others key points:

1. Debit card payment process option (currently not available)

 

2. Transaction search engine we have many different ways to search the historical transactions

Transaction type

• Card type
• Other criteria – what choices are available

Currently frequently used search engine is “Other Criteria”  and first/last four digit of the credit card
 

• Card Number (first and last digit of credit card) 
• Customer ID
• Order ID
• Amount
• Batch Number
• ECI (Your unique code)
• Username

Requirements (Technical)

The payment gateway (PG) must have the following:

• REST API
• The Rest API must at least have the following methods:
  • Authentication
  • Charges:
    • Create a Charge using Credit card
    • Retrieve/update/list a charge(s)
  • Customers:
    • Create a customer
    • Retrieve/update/list a customer(s)
  • Balance:
    • Retrieve transactions based on Payout Key*
  • Refunds:
    • Create a refund
    • Retrieve/update/list a refund(s)

 

• Webhooks must have at least the following methods:
  • Fire webhook when a customer pay/cancel/failed/updated payment/refund/disputes
  • Fire webhook when a customer modify customer information
  • Fire webhook when PG pay out us so that we can get the payout key* and retrieve back the detail of the payout using API
• PG must have sandbox environment
• PG must have C# sample codes to do above.
• Developer Portal/Documentation
• Ability to use a ecommerce hosted payment page

Other Requirements
 

• Reports by day, week and monthly – current timeline
• Reports – history at least one (1) year retained
• Ability to save and retain reports
• Clearly defined roles of users
• Dispute mechanism
• Receipts on demand current and history
• POS for customer front desk

Administration Portal
 

• Administrative rights
• Logins and new users
• Ability to define payment gateway portal permissions – view, process payment, access reports, access refunds
• Option for 2-factor authentication to access payment processing portal
• Documentation on use of Administration Portal
• Support Level – hours of support, contacts ….
• How to on all aspects of payment processing

Requirements – Fees for Services

• Provide fee breakdown for all services
• Escalation fees or set fees guarantee for what period of time
• Summary of all fees

Data Management – IHSA data
 

• Data storage – preference will be given to location in Canada, security protocols
• Data processing – preference will be given location in Canada
• Data protocols and access

 

2. Term/Service Agreement

The term of the agreement/contract will begin once the agreement and SLA are signed by both the successful proponent and IHSA.

The end date of the project will be determined by IHSA. A SLA (Service Level Agreement) will also be required by the successful proponent for the maintaining of the new payment processing process.

The current provider(s) will continue to provide service in parallel to the onboarding and completion of the requirements by the new proponent.

Note: Term/Service Agreement date is subject to change





 

5. Project Management

We require that a dedicated representative be assigned to assist us with the planning, staged purchasing, delivery and follow up phases required given the information above.
 

6. Guidelines for Proponent’s Submission

The preferred format for the Proponent’s “Offer of Service” or response to this RFP is as follows:
 

• Project Understanding.  In narrative form, provide a summary of your understanding of the assignment, the major tasks to be completed, and the skills required to do the project.

Each Proponent is to include in its proposal a description of how the Proponent will provide the services outlined, which must include a project work plan that includes milestones, methodology and approach; project main contacts; and, the process for managing and resolving any issues.

• Qualifications.  Provide a detailed explanation of your firm’s qualifications, and the qualifications of the individuals you are proposing to undertake the project. See below.
• Previous experience. Provide an outline of your firm’s previous experience working on projects of this nature.
• Provide a complete listing of pricing/costs, including staff, expenses and any contingencies.  Please provide detailed pricing on all aspects of this project.

1. Any out-of-pocket expenses should be clearly stated.
2. Any assumptions incorporated in the proposal.
3. Value-added services offered free of charge.
4. Other services available by the Proponent and any other information that may support the proposal.

 

7. Experience & Qualifications

Each Proponent must provide as part of its proposal a summary outlining:
 

• Company history including information of any recently formed partnerships or strategic alliances with other companies that may be beneficial to the IHSA for the purposes of the services requested in this RFP
• Personnel working on the project with qualifications & experience
• Describe Proponent’s relationship with other companies with whom Proponent may partner to service HSA needs and requirements as described in this RFP
• Health and Safety documentation
• Any additional information that will support your proposal

8. Evaluation of Proposals

There is an Evaluation Team made up of three (3) members of the IHSA. This Team will attend the onsite/virtual demonstration, review submissions, select and recommend the successful Proponent.

Stage I – Mandatory Requirements

Stage 1 will consist of a review to determine which proposals comply with all the mandatory requirements.  Proposals, which do not comply with all the mandatory requirements, may be disqualified and not evaluated further.

Other than inserting the information requested on the mandatory submission forms set out in this RFP, a Proponent may not make any changes to any of the forms.  Any proposal containing such changes, whether on the face of the form or elsewhere in this proposal, may be disqualified.

Each proposal must include the following completed documents located as Appendices:


Mandatory Documents to be Completed and Submitted
Appendix AGeneral Proponent Information/References
Appendix BTax Compliance Declaration
Appendix CConflict of Interest Declaration
Appendix DRespondent Acknowledgement Form

The Proponent, by submitting the proposal, warrants that to its best knowledge and belief no actual or potential Conflict of Interest exists with the submission of the proposal or performance of the contemplated contract other than those disclosed under General Proponent Information.  Where the IHSA discover a Proponent’s failure to disclose all actual or potential Conflicts of Interest, the IHSA may disqualify the Proponent or terminate any contract awarded to that Proponent pursuant to this procurement process.

A proposal that includes conditions, options, variations or contingent statements that are contrary to or inconsistent with the terms set out in the RFP may be disqualified.


Stage II – Rated Criteria/Price

Stage II will consist of scoring by the Evaluation Team of each qualified proposal on the basis of the rated criteria. 

The HSA evaluation team will base selection decisions on responses received and the best outcome for the IHSA.  Each response will be carefully evaluated and scored by the evaluation team.
Each response will be scored in accordance with the relative importance weighting indicated in the table below.  It is suggested you address these criteria in sufficient depth in your response. 



#Rated CriteriaWeighting
(Points)
1Requirements40
2Timeline5
3Virtual Meeting on Proponent Proposal5
4Experience with Payment Processing10
5Price 40

Total Points100

Cumulative Score

All scores for qualified Proponents will be added and the highest scoring Proponent will be selected.

Negotiations

The IHSA may, at their sole discretion, enter into negotiations with one or more Proponents. The IHSA reserve the right to negotiate with more than one Proponent concurrently or consecutively, and to add to, expand, reduce or modify the scope of this RFP.  If the IHSA and the selected Proponents are unable to negotiate an agreement, the IHSA may begin or continue negotiations with any other Proponent, at any time.  Negotiations may take place with selected Proponents without the obligation to recall proposals or provide an opportunity for other Proponents to quote on the same changes.  No Proponent shall have any rights against the IHSA arising from such negotiation. 

1. Confidentiality

All information contained in this Request for Proposal, and all information and material obtained during the course of this project, is confidential, and remains the property of the IHSA. The Proponent must agree to sign a confidentiality agreement. All outputs of the project will remain the property of the IHSA.

10. Sub-contracting or Substitution

No sub-contracting or substitution on the part of the Proponent will be accepted without explicit agreement from the IHSA.
 

11. References

Provide three (3) references from clients for whom your company has provided the same or similar services within the past three (3) years and include the following information for each reference: Name of Company, Address, Name of Contact, Title of Contact, Telephone Number of Contact, Date Work Undertaken, and Brief Description of Assignment. Refer to Stage I Mandatory Requirements – Appendix A.

50. Costs and Expenses

When providing complete pricing/costs, a Proponent must be aware of and affirm the following:

On June 17, 2009, the Ontario government established new standards relating to the procurement of consulting services and management of consulting contracts for all government agencies and the IHSA. As a result the IHSA will not pay for any hospitality, incidental and food expenses, including, but not limited to: meals, beverages, gratuities, personal telephone calls, etc. under the new rules.

The IHSA will not be responsible for any travel expenses.

All fees for services shall be quoted in Canadian Funds.  The fees quoted for services or goods shall not include applicable taxes (i.e. HST, GST, PST, VAT …).

Any services supplied to one or more of the IHSA are to be invoiced by the Proponent to the individual organization and will be paid separately by that organization.

The IHSA will not be responsible for any payments to the Provider(s)/Vendor(s) selected to provide Group Benefit Brokerage Services for the IHSA.  The IHSA will be responsible for paying the monthly benefit premiums directly to the carrier.

The benefit carrier will assume full responsibility for any and all payments to the Provider(s)/Vendor(s) selected to provide Benefit Brokerage Services for the IHSA.
 

1000. Review Representative

All contact and questions with regard to this RFP must be made through the Project Representative selected for this initiative, by e-mail. For the purposes of this RFP, the Project Representative is:

Name: Alan Hansen
Email:  ahansen@ihsa.ca

Any questions received and responses will be provided to all Proponents.  Questions will be accepted up to and including Friday, March 18, 2022 @ 2:00 p.m. EDT.

The IHSA reserves the rights to not answer a proponent’s question.  The reasons for this might be:
 

1. The information requested is not needed for the preparation of a submission, or
2. The answer to the question posed can be found in the RFP, or
3. The answer to the question posed is the purpose of the RFP

The IHSA will not provide answers to questions in any form or electronic format by direct reply in order that the fairness of the HSA procurement process is maintained.

Unless otherwise notified, the time required by the IHSA to answer questions will not change the deadline specified for submission of a proposal.

14. Additional Information

The IHSA may request additional data, discussions, presentations or on-site visits in support of the response to this RFP, all without obligation to provide other RFP recipients with similar information or notice of such communication. Additionally, the IHSA reserve the right to implement the appropriate due diligence processes to organize or clarify any information provided, or to collect more evidence of managerial, financial and technical abilities, including but not limited to, meetings and visits with current customers served by the Proponent.
 

• The deadline for submission of an Offer is Friday, March 25, 2022 @ 2:00 pm EDT.
• The successful Proponent will do everything possible to exceed delivery expectations.

 

• Other Consideration

Circumstances may arise in which additional billable work or services may be required by the IHSA that cannot be currently determined for this RFP. The Proponent will provide in their response their lowest hourly or unit pricing and/or highest discount structure that will be extended to the IHSA if additional work/service outside the scope of this RFP is approved by the IHSA. This pricing may be used as further consideration by the IHSA during the evaluation of offer stage.

When replying to this RFP, a Proponent should consider their response as an investment and cornerstone of the potential for additional engagements.
 

16. Notification to Other Proponents of Outcome of Procurement Process

Once the successful Proponent executes a contract, the others will be notified in writing of the outcome of the procurement process.
 

17. Debriefing

Proponents may request a debriefing after receipt of a notification of award.  All requests must be in writing to the Project Representative and must be made within sixty (60) days of notification of award.  The intent of the debriefing information session is to aid the Proponent in presenting a better proposal in subsequent procurement opportunities.  Any debriefing provided is not for the purpose of providing an opportunity to challenge the procurement process.

RFP Terms
By submitting a proposal, the Proponent agrees the following terms and conditions shall apply:
 

1. Information Gathering Process

This RFP is being issued for information gathering purposes only. The IHSA shall not be bound or obligated in any manner as a result of issuing this RFP to enter into contract negotiations, or to conclude a contract. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the IHSA expressly reserve the right, at their sole discretion, (i) to initiate any form of procurement process including without limitation direct negotiations with any Proponent regardless of whether such Proponent responded to this RFP; or (ii) to elect not to procure the good or service that is the subject of this RFP.

B.      Cost of RFP Response
All work undertaken by any Proponent in preparation of its Proposal is performed on a speculative basis.  The IHSA accept no responsibility for costs of proposal preparation, benchmarking, piloting, interviews, meetings, or other activities related to proposal preparation or any contract negotiations. All proposals submitted will be regarded as the personal property of the IHSA and will not be returned.

C.      Use of the IHSA Names or Logos
The Proponent shall not use the IHSA’ names or logos or associated names or logos or make reference to this RFP in any advertising copy or other promotional materials or messages without prior written consent.

D.      Explanation of Information Evaluation/Decision Making
The IHSA are not bound to explain how any proposal was evaluated nor are the IHSA bound to explain any decision they make based upon the subject matter of the proposal.

E.      Restriction on HSA Contacts
All contacts, written and oral, concerning this RFP in any respect, should be made through the Representative named in this RFP or a member of the Evaluation Team. Discussion of this RFP with any other parties within the IHSA may result in your organization’s proposal not being considered.

F.       Confidentiality of Proponent’s Information
Information provided by a Proponent and all or a portion of the proposal itself, even if identified as being confidential, may be used, reproduced, and disclosed by the IHSA, and on a confidential basis, to third parties retained by the IHSA in connection with the subject matter of this RFP, including without limitation, for the purposes of evaluating the information.

Information provided by a Proponent is subject to disclosure in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O. 1990, and c.F.31, as amended. Each Proponent is requested to identify in its proposal any information it wishes the IHSA to keep confidential. Proponents are advised that the information provided by a Proponent and all or a portion of the proposal itself, may be disclosed by the IHSA to third parties where an order by the Information and Privacy Commissioner or a court requires the IHSA to do so.

G.      Data Validity
All data and information included in this RFP have been extracted from sources, which the IHSA consider to be reliable. However, the IHSA make no warranties and accept no responsibility for inaccurate data contained herein. 
H.    Errors and Omissions
The IHSA shall not be held liable for any errors or omissions in any part of this RFP.  While the IHSA have used considerable effort to ensure an accurate representation of information in this RFP, the information contained in the RFP is supplied solely as a guideline for potential companies.  This information is not necessarily comprehensive or exhaustive.  Nothing in the RFP is intended to relieve the company from forming their own opinions and conclusions with respect to the matters addressed in the RFP.
I.    Indemnification
The Proponent shall indemnify and hold harmless the IHSA, it’s officers, board members, partners, agents and employees from and against all actions, claims, demands, losses, costs, damages, suits or proceedings whatsoever which may be brought against or made upon the IHSA and against all loss, liability, judgments, claims, suits, demands or expenses which the IHSA may sustain, suffer or be put to resulting from or arising out of the Proponent’s failure to exercise reasonable care, skill or diligence or omissions in the performance or rendering of any work or service required hereunder to be performed or rendered by the company, it’s agents, officials and employees.
J.  Conflict of Interest
Proponents that respond to this RFP must identify any real or perceived situations where a conflict of interest, past, current or future exists.  All instances are to be declared in Appendix C.
K.  Right to Termination
The IHSA may, in their sole discretion, cancel this RFP or revise the scope of this RFP at any time.

L.  Dispute Resolution
In order to address suppliers’ concerns related to any aspect of the procurement process in an ethical, fair, reasonable and timely fashion, the following dispute resolution process will be followed:

1. Notice of Dispute received
2. Conduct Negotiation (if negotiation is successful, proceed to Step 6 - End of Process; if not successful, both parties must agree to proceed to Step 3 - Mediation)
3. Conduct Mediation (if mediation is successful, proceed to Step 6 - End of Process; if not successful, both parties must agree to proceed to Step 4 - Arbitration)
4. Conduct Arbitration (if arbitration is successful, proceed to Step 6 - End of Process; if not successful, proceed to Step 5 - Litigation)
5. Litigation
6. End of Process

Appendix A - General Proponent Information
Please provide concise responses to all of the following questions.  Where you do not provide a response, please explain why.  Please review all Appendix materials before completing this questionnaire.
Contact Information Full Organization Legal Name:         

Street Address:

City, Province/State:

Postal Code:

Phone Number:         

Fax Number:  

Organization Website (if one exists):

Organization Ownership
(specify private or public company): 

Parent Organization Name (if any):            
RFP Contact Person and Title:          

E-mail Address for RFP Contact Person:


References – Current Clients
Company Name

Company Address

Contact Name

Title of Contact

Contact Phone Number

Date Work Undertaken

Brief Description of Assignment








Company Name

Company Address

Contact Name

Title of Contact

Contact Phone Number

Date Work Undertaken

Brief Description of Assignment

Company Name

Company Address

Contact Name

Title of Contact

Contact Phone Number

Date Work Undertaken

Brief Description of Assignment





APPENDIX B – Tax Compliance Declaration
The Ontario Government expects all suppliers to pay their provincial taxes on a timely basis. In this regard, Proponents are advised that any contract with the Ontario Government will require a declaration from the successful Proponent that the Proponent's provincial taxes are in good standing.
In order to be considered for a contract award, the Proponent must submit the following tax compliance status statement and the following consent to disclosure:

Declaration

I/WE hereby certify that__________________________ at the time of submitting its proposal,
(Legal Name of Proponent)
is in full compliance with all tax statutes administered by the Ministry of Revenue for Ontario and that, in particular, all returns required to be filed under all provincial tax statutes have been filed and all taxes due and payable under those statutes have been paid or satisfactory arrangements for their payment have been made and maintained.

Consent to Disclosure
I/We consent to the Ministry of Revenue releasing the taxpayer information described in this Declaration to the Ministry issuing the RFP as necessary for the purpose of verifying that I/we am/are in full compliance with all statutes administered by the Ministry of Revenue.

Dated at                        this                 day of                          20    

An authorized signing officer)

(Print Name)


(Title)

(Phone Number)                                               (Fax Number)