Prepaid Card Services

Concepts

• financial transaction processing and clearing house
• replacement cards
• card volume
• prepaid cards
• prepaid financial services
• prepaid card services
• card services
• long-term prepaid card services
• adult social care, childrens services
• card

Location

London

Description

The contract covers the provision of long-term prepaid card services to support various council operations including Adult Social Care, Children's Services, NRPF, and Client Finance. Prepaid cards enable fast electronic fund transfers, reduce manual payment processes, and allow real-time expenditure monitoring. The service supports cashless operations and protects vulnerable clients from financial abuse.

Total Quantity or Scope

The procurement covers the provision of long-term prepaid card services to support multiple council operations including Adult Social Care, Children's Services, NRPF, Client Finance, and Education. The council currently manages approximately 2,000 prepaid cards across eight payment platforms. The service enables fast electronic fund transfers, reduces manual payment processes, and allows real-time expenditure monitoring. It supports a largely cashless operation and protects vulnerable clients from financial abuse. The contract includes a fixed monthly fee based on card volume (currently in the 1,001-3,000 bracket), plus additional charges for setup, replacement cards, reporting, and platform-specific changes. The successful provider, Prepaid Financial Services (PFS), was selected via direct award under the NEPO framework due to their ability to meet all requirements, including robust reporting, joint account functionality, and continuity of service.

Award Detail

Award Criteria

CPV Codes

• 66172000 - Financial transaction processing and clearing-house services

Indicators

• Award on basis of price.

Legal Justification

The contract was awarded without prior publication in accordance with Regulation 32 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. This is lawful because the procurement is a direct call-off from an existing framework agreement (NEPO505 - Payment Solutions). The framework permits direct award and includes Prepaid Financial Services (PFS) as an eligible supplier. The council selected PFS based on continuity of service, value for money, and their ability to meet all technical and operational requirements. No further competition was required under the terms of the framework.