Provision of Banking and Bill Payment Services

Overview Banana Shire Council invites tenders from suitably qualified and licensed providers for the provision of Banking and Bill Payment Services, to be delivered in accordance with the Specification contained within Part 5 of the tender documents. Scope The scope includes: Provision of Banking and Bill Payment Services to Banana Shire Council and Council's customers Delivery of new and innovative services to meet changing market needs, in addition to the traditional banking and bill payment suite of products Adherence to the details of the Specification documents Participation within the Banana Shire Council community Completion of the requirements under a tailored Services Agreement offered and agreed to by both parties All products and services associated with the delivery of banking and bill payment services both to Council and Council's customers It is Council's preference to award the Contract to a single service provider who will complete all banking requirements associated with day to day Council banking functions, and all functions associated with the receipting of transactions for rate payments and other payments made to and by Council. Council reserves the right to award specific functions to an alternative service provider where that specific service is assessed to be an improvement or advantage to Council. Specific Requirements Council's operating platform is Civica Authority Altitude, with all revenue streams for collection, including Council Rates, Homecare and other related payments, managed via this platform. For regular bill payment, Council currently utilises BPAY Chq/Sav, BPAY Credit Card, Internet, Telephone, Direct Debit, Mail, and Australia Post Over the Counter and A/Post Billpay. Lockbox and Paypal are not used. Council is looking to expand its options with regard to all payment mechanisms and is interested in strategies that will positively influence payments towards more efficient channels. Innovative Services Council is looking to streamline existing time-consuming processes such as deposit identification, paper-based payments, agency transactions, voucher tracing, and to enhance BPAY services and reconciliation services, among other items. An innovative approach to both banking and bill payment will be favourably viewed under the Innovative Services evaluation criteria. Rate Payments Council issues approximately 6,900 rate notices twice a year, usually forwarded to residents in July/August each year. The current full rating year is 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. Rate payment dates are as follows: Period 1: Issue August, Due September Period 2: Issue February, Due March Direct Debit is not currently utilised for collection of these payments, and there is no ability for ratepayers to increase payment frequency to quarterly, monthly, or more at this point. Contract Terms and Conditions Contract Term of five (5) years, with the possibility of an initial extension of three (3) years and a subsequent extension of two (2) years, to be exercised at the discretion of Council Contract Term commences 1 April 2027