REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR BANKING AND EBPP SERVICES RFP 16/17-23

Transcription

1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR BANKING AND EBPP SERVICES RFP 16/17-23 Date of Issuance: February 17, 2017 Pre-Proposal Meeting: Questions & Requests for Clarifications Due no later than: Answers & Clarifications Provided no later than: Proposals Due: March 1, 10 a.m. March 10, 4 p.m. March 17, 2017 March 29, 2 p.m. Anticipated Board Award: August 10, 2017 Submit Proposals to: Julie Taylor, Purchasing Officer Procurement & Contracts Division Alameda County Water District S. Grimmer Blvd. Fremont, CA Tel.: (510)

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3 PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTS DIVISION REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS PART I INFORMATION / INSTRUCTIONS TO PROPOSERS

4 Part I, Information / Instructions to Proposers Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 2 of 13 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1. INVITATION PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE BACKGROUND DEFINITIONS SOLICITATION PROCESS AND PROPOSAL EVALUATION... 4 A. Solicitation Timeline EXAMINATION OF RFP DOCUMENTS PRE-PROPOSAL MEETING QUESTIONS AND REQUESTS FOR CLARIFICATIONS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF ADDENDUM / ADDENDA TO THE SOLICITATION BASIS OF AWARD EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS PERIOD FOR ACCEPTANCE OF PROPOSALS MODIFICATION, WITHDRAWAL, MISTAKES, AND MINOR INFORMALITIES EX-PARTE COMMUNICATIONS CONFIDENTIALITY... 12

5 Part I, Information / Instructions to Proposers Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 3 of INVITATION The Alameda County Water District (District) invites qualified firms to submit proposals to provide comprehensive banking and payment services (Services). This Request for Proposal (RFP) has been divided into five (5) Service Groups. Service Group 1: General Banking Services Service Group 2: Retail Lockbox Services Service Group 3: Line of Credit Service Group 4: Merchant Card Services Service Group 5: Electronic Bill Presentment & Payment (EBPP) Firms may propose to provide one or more of these Service Groups. Each Service Group will be evaluated and awarded individually. It is anticipated that only one firm will be selected for each Service Group. However, the same firm may be selected to provide more than one service group under the same agreement. 2. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE It is the intent of the District to award a Contract to the highest ranked Proposer in each of the above categories of service in accordance with the evaluation criteria set forth herein. In the event that one firm is awarded a Contract for more than one Service Group, it is anticipated that only one Agreement shall be entered into for the selected Service Groups. The base term of each Agreement shall be for an initial five (5) year period with five (5) additional one-year options, at the District s sole discretion to renew, for a total contract term of up to ten (10) years. 3. BACKGROUND The District is a California Special District located in the San Francisco Bay Area. The District supplies water to the cities of Fremont, Newark, and Union City in southern Alameda County. The first water district formed in California under the County Water District Act of 1913, the District today has a staff of approximately 230 employees and supplies drinking water to more than 347,000 people. The District covers approximately 100 square miles and provides water service through over 83,000 connections. With diverse water sources that include the State Water Project, water imported from the City and County of San Francisco Water Department, and local groundwater, the District has consistently been able to accomplish its mission of providing a reliable supply of high quality water at a reasonable price to its customers. 4. DEFINITIONS Whenever the following words occur in this RFP, they shall have the following meanings: A. DISTRICT or ACWD shall mean the Alameda County Water District.

6 Part I, Information / Instructions to Proposers Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 4 of 13 B. CONTRACT ADMINISTRATOR shall mean the District s Contract Administrator who will be identified after Solicitation award. Any reference to the Contract Administrator in the Agreement shall mean the Contract Administrator or designated representative. The Agreement will be performed under the direction, inspection and supervision of the Contract Administrator. C. COMPETITIVE SEALED PROPOSALS is a transparent procurement method in which Proposals from competing contractors, firms, or vendors are invited by openly advertising the scope, specifications, and terms and conditions of the proposed Agreement. Award is typically made to the most qualified Proposer or Proposers whose Proposal(s) provides the best value to the District. D. CONTRACTOR or CONSULTANT means any person having a Contract with the District. E. REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS or RFP means all documents, whether attached or incorporated by reference, utilized for soliciting Proposals. Also referred to as Solicitation. F. SERVICES shall mean the requested services, goods, supplies or equipment. G. PROPOSER or FIRM means a corporate entity or individual who responds to this Request for Proposals. 5. SOLICITATION PROCESS AND PROPOSAL EVALUATION A. Solicitation Timeline The District intends to adhere to the following timeline which is subject to change at the discretion of the District: Activity Date RFP Issued February 17, 2017 Pre-Proposal Meeting March 1, 10 a.m. Questions / Requests for Clarifications Due March 10, 4 p.m. District s Responses to Questions March 17, 2017 Proposal Due Date March 29, 2 p.m. Interviews & Site Visits (tentative) May 16-June 2, 2017 Board Approval (tentative) August 10, 2017 Finalize Agreements August 11-31, 2017 Transition/Kick-Off Meetings September 1, 2017 B. Proposer s Qualifications, Experience and References In order to be selected for award of a contract, each Proposer must provide information about its company so that the District can evaluate the firm s stability and ability to

7 Part I, Information / Instructions to Proposers Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 5 of 13 support the commitments set forth in response to the RFP. The District, at its option, may require a Proposer to provide additional information and/or clarify requested information. Each proposer must provide satisfactory evidence of their qualifications as follows in order to be considered for award: Minimum Qualifications A. Be a federally or state chartered financial institution providing similar services as those sought herein for a minimum of ten (10) years. B. Be a qualified depository for public funds in California and collateralize all deposits in accordance with state statute. C. Be capable of providing the services sought by the District. D. Have an established branch within the City of Fremont limits or in close proximity. E. Have a minimum Community Reinvestment Act rating of Satisfactory. F. Be well capitalized according to the FDIC in order to accommodate the District s cash/investment management needs. G. Have the ability to make funds available in employee bank accounts following transmittal of ACH payroll files one day in advance every other week. H. Have the ability to electronically present and send the District s invoices and provide an online method of payment, either through Proposer s website or a thirdparty. Applicable Service Group(s) x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x I. Be willing to provide the District with a line of credit. x 1) References Proposers shall describe their experience in providing the specified services for similar operations and/or entities. Proposers shall provide references of three (3) current public sector clients for similar services (preferably clients in California). For each client submitted as a reference, Proposers shall supply a brief description of the services provided, the effective date the services commenced and client contact information. x x

8 Part I, Information / Instructions to Proposers Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 6 of 13 2) Qualifications and Experience of Key Personnel and Management Team Each Proposer shall submit biographical information of Key Personnel and an organization chart that identifies the proposed account team s structure and reporting responsibilities. This information shall indicate sufficient evidence satisfactory to the District that the proposed Key Personnel have the qualifications and experience necessary to successfully provide the Scope of Services. Principal participants shall have previous experience in similar positions providing the same services. For the purposes of this clause, Key Personnel is defined as those individuals who are essential to the successful provision of services. Key Personnel must be available for the transition period, if any, and first two years of service, and may not be substituted without prior written approval by the District. The District reserves the right to direct the removal of any individual, including Key Personnel, assigned to this contract. 3) Third Party Vendors A Proposer intending to use any subcontractors or subconsultants must identify them on the Third Party Vendors form in Appendix A and include it with its proposal. Work that subconsultants will perform, if any, should be indicated on a task basis. Use of any and all subconsultants must be approved in writing by the District s authorized representative. 6. EXAMINATION OF RFP DOCUMENTS A. The selected Proposer(s) will enter into an Agreement for Services, refer to sample located in Appendix C, with the District, which describes the Scope of Services to be performed, compensation, Key Personnel and other pertinent provisions. B. Before submitting its Proposal, each Proposer must (a) examine the RFP documents thoroughly and (b) familiarize itself with any applicable Federal, State and local laws, ordinances, rules and regulations, and standards affecting provision of the Services. 7. PRE-PROPOSAL MEETING Proposers are invited to attend a Pre-Proposal meeting at the District s Headquarters (43885 South Grimmer Boulevard, Fremont, CA 94538) on March 1, Attendance is not mandatory, but is strongly recommended. If attending, please RSVP by ing Julie Taylor, Purchasing Officer, at julie.taylor@acwd.com no later than February 28, Firms may have representatives attend the meeting remotely. Instructions to attend the meeting electronically will be provided in response to a written request to julie.taylor@acwd.com.

9 Part I, Information / Instructions to Proposers Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 7 of QUESTIONS AND REQUESTS FOR CLARIFICATIONS Prospective Proposers must carefully examine the Solicitation documents. In the event of doubt of anything contained in the Solicitation, all questions or requests for clarification about the meaning or intent, discrepancies or omissions of the RFP documents may be submitted to Julie Taylor, Purchasing Officer, Procurement & Contracts Division, Alameda County Water District, South Grimmer Blvd., Fremont, CA via mail or julie.taylor@acwd.com, until 4 p.m. on March 10, Responses to questions and requests for clarification will be posted to the District s website, no later than March 17, Only questions answered by formal written addenda will be binding. Oral and other interpretations or clarifications will be without legal effect. Any information given to a prospective Proposer by the District will be furnished to all prospective Proposers, if that information is necessary in submitting Proposals, or if the lack of such information would be prejudicial to other prospective Proposers. 9. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF ADDENDUM / ADDENDA TO THE SOLICITATION Each Proposer shall acknowledge receipt of any addendum / addenda to this Solicitation. Proposers are required to submit the signature page of each addendum, if any, with their Proposal. 10. BASIS OF AWARD Contract award, if any, shall be made to the highest ranked Proposer(s) for each Service Group, as determined by the Technical Evaluation Team, based on the factors described in Part I, Section 11.C Evaluation Criteria. The District reserves the right to award the Service(s) listed on this solicitation "individually", by "groups", "all or none", or by any other method as deemed in the best interest of the District. 11. EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS Proposals will be screened to ensure responsiveness to the requirements of the RFP. The District may reject any proposal as non-responsive that does not provide evidence of the required minimum experience and qualifications or include the documents requested herein and referenced in Part III, Section 3, Submittal Requirements. The District reserves the right to request additional information and clarifications during the evaluation and selection process from any or all Proposers regarding their proposals. A. Technical Evaluation Team For each Service Group, a Technical Evaluation Team (TET), which is composed of District staff, or other qualified persons, will review and screen the proposals submitted according to the weighted criteria and process indicated below.

10 Part I, Information / Instructions to Proposers Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 8 of 13 While price is one basic determinant for award, it is not the sole consideration. Additional general factors that will be considered are the Proposer s understanding of the District s requirements as specified in this RFP, and the qualifications, experience, and organization of the firm and its personnel. The TET's composite scores for all steps of the evaluation process will comprise the official record for the proposal evaluation process; individual evaluation records will not be available for public inspection at any point during or after the evaluation process. B. Interviews and Presentations 1) Following the initial review and evaluation of proposals, some Proposers may be invited to participate in the next step of the proposal selection process. This may include the submission of additional information, as described below, and/or participation in an oral interview and a site visit. If the District conducts interviews, they will do so only with those Proposers initially found to be within the competitive range for each Service Group. Interviews, if held, are tentatively scheduled between May 16 and June 2, 2017 and will be held at the District s Headquarters, located at South Grimmer Blvd., Fremont, CA This schedule is subject to change. 2) The District reserves the right to further reduce the competitive range for each Service Group at any time during this step of the evaluation and selection process and the District may hold simultaneous discussions with those Proposers that remain in the competitive range. Proposers who are no longer in the competitive range will be notified as soon as it is practicable and will thereafter not continue in the selection and evaluation process. C. Evaluation Criteria For each Service Group, the maximum possible total combined score for a proposal is 100 points. Evaluation Criteria Company Qualifications, Experience & References The capabilities of each Proposer will be assessed on: a) The financial institution s or Firm s recent experience in successfully providing similar services for other public clients. This includes the number of public agency clients, the services provided to public agency clients, and your institution s knowledge of, and adherence to, the Maximum Points Available per Service Group

11 Part I, Information / Instructions to Proposers Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 9 of 13 California Government Code and other applicable laws. b) Qualifications and experience of Key Personnel in providing the specified services and their experience, if any, in working with public clients as evidenced by their resumes. Assignment of experienced and dedicated employees who are committed to and capable of servicing the District s accounts. c) Contact information of three (3) current public sector client references. For each reference submitted the Proposer shall provide a brief description of the services provided. d) Be sufficiently capitalized to accommodate the District s cash/investment management needs and be a qualified depository for public funds. (Service Groups 1 & 2 only) e) Financial strength of the bank and bank holding company demonstrated by Standard & Poor s and Moody s ratings, Bauer Financial star rating, and FDIC assessment. (Service Group 1, 2 & 3 only) f) The financial institution has a branch located in Fremont, CA or in close proximity. (Service Group 1 only) Approach to Scope of Services The Proposer s overall methodology to successfully providing the Services will be assessed for its feasibility, responsiveness to the Scope of Services, effectiveness and thoroughness. Proposals will be evaluated on, but not limited to: a) Ability to provide evolving technologies, products and services. b) Reliability and quality of customer service. c) Financial strength and capitalization. d) Commitment to the government market

12 Part I, Information / Instructions to Proposers Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 10 of 13 Cost Proposal (Pro Forma) Additional Services D. District s Rights This portion of the proposal will be evaluated based on reasonableness of the proposed fees. Such fees will be evaluated on costs the District or other comparable public agencies have paid for similar services, and in accordance with what is considered to be the industry s standard and customary costs for the Services. This portion of the proposal will be evaluated on comprehensiveness of responses and the ability to proactively suggest or recommend new services and ideas to the District ) The District reserves the right to cancel this Solicitation in whole or in part, at its sole discretion, at any time before the Agreement(s) is fully executed. This RFP does not commit the District to award any Agreement(s), to pay any costs incurred by Proposers in the preparation of their proposals submitted in response to this RFP, or to procure or contract for services. The District reserves the right to modify or cancel in whole or in part this RFP, to reject any and all proposals, to accept the proposal it considers most favorable to the District s interest at its sole discretion, and to waive irregularities or informalities in any proposal or in the proposal procedures. The District further reserves the right to reject all proposals and seek new proposals when the District considers such a procedure to be in its best interest. If there is any evidence indicating that two or more Proposers are in collusion to restrict competition or are otherwise engaged in anti-competitive practices, the proposals of all such Proposers shall be rejected, and such evidence may be a cause for disqualification of the participants in any future solicitations issued by the District. 2) The District reserves the right to hold discussions and/or negotiations with any individual or qualified firm, to interview or not, to request additional information or revised proposals or to request best and final offers (BAFO) if it is in the best interest of the District to do so. However, the District may make an award without conducting any interviews or negotiations; therefore, Proposers are encouraged to submit their best proposal at the outset. 12. SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS The Proposer shall assume full responsibility for timely delivery at the location designated for receipt of Proposals. Please see Part III, Proposal Content and Submittal, of this RFP for full submission details.

13 Part I, Information / Instructions to Proposers Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 11 of 13 Any Proposal received after the deadline for receipt will not be considered for award and will be returned to the Proposer unopened. However, an exception may be made when a late Proposal would have been timely but for the action or inaction of District personnel. 13. PERIOD FOR ACCEPTANCE OF PROPOSALS A. In order to allow for adequate evaluation, the District requires a response to this Solicitation to be valid and irrevocable for 180 calendar days after submittal date and time. B. No Proposer may withdraw a Proposal within 180 days after the Proposal Due Date. Mistake on the part of the Proposer in preparing the Proposal confers no right for the withdrawal of the Proposal after it has been opened. Should there be valid reasons why the Agreement cannot be awarded within the specific period, the time may be extended by mutual agreement between the District and the Proposer. 14. MODIFICATION, WITHDRAWAL, MISTAKES, AND MINOR INFORMALITIES A. Modification or Withdrawal Proposals may be modified or withdrawn prior to the established due date via or mail request. Please refer to Section 8, Questions and Requests for Clarifications for contact information. B. Mistakes in Proposals (Discovered Before Due Date) A Proposer may correct mistakes in a Proposal prior to the time and date set for due date by submitting a replacement Proposal clearly indicating it supersedes the original submittal. C. Mistakes in Proposals (Discovered After Opening but Before Award) Minor informalities are matters of form rather than substance evident from the Proposal, or insignificant mistakes that can be waived or corrected without prejudice to other Proposals; that is, the effect on price, quantity, quality, delivery or Contractual conditions is negligible. The District may waive such informalities or allow the Proposer to correct them depending on what is in the best interests of the District. A Proposer may be permitted to withdraw a Proposer if: (a) a mistake is clearly evident on the Proposal but the intended correction is not similarly evident or (b) the Proposer submits objective proof which clearly and convincingly demonstrates that a mistake was made. A mistake is defined as an error filling out the Proposal that made the Proposal materially different than the Proposer intended and was not due to an error in judgment or carelessness in inspecting the work or the specifications.

14 Part I, Information / Instructions to Proposers Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 12 of 13 If a Proposer alleges a mistake, the District will advise the Proposer to support the allegation by submitting an Affidavit of Error concerning the alleged mistake, accompanied by all pertinent evidence such as the Proposer s copy of the Proposal file; original worksheets and other data used in preparing the Proposal and any other evidence that will serve to establish the mistake, the manner in which it occurred, and the Proposer actually intended. 15. EX-PARTE COMMUNICATIONS Proposers and Proposers representatives may not communicate with the District s Board members except in writing and if the communication is made public. Proposers and Proposers representatives must communicate in the manner set forth in this RFP. There shall be no communication with any officer, director, employee, or agent of the District, except as may be reasonably necessary to carry out the procedures specified in this RFP. Nothing herein prohibits Proposers and their representatives from making oral statements or presentations in public to one or more representatives of the District during a public meeting. 16. CONFIDENTIALITY A. All responses to this RFP become property of the District and will be kept confidential until a recommendation for award of a contract has been announced. Thereafter, submittals are subject to public inspection and disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Cal. Govt. Code Sections 6250 et seq). Therefore, unless the information is exempt from disclosure by law, the content of any proposal, request for explanation, exception, or substitution, response to these specifications, protest, or any other written communication between the District and any Proposer regarding the procurement, shall be available to the public. B. If Proposer believes any communication contains trade secrets or other proprietary information that the Proposer believes would cause substantial injury to the Proposer s competitive position if disclosed, the Proposer shall request that the District withhold from disclosure the proprietary information by marking each page containing such proprietary information as confidential. By submitting a proposal with portions marked confidential, a Proposer represents it has determined such portions qualify for exemption from disclosure under the California Public Records Act. A Proposer may not designate its entire Proposal as confidential nor may a Proposer designate its Cost Proposal as confidential. The District will not honor such designations and will disclose submittals so designated to the public.

15 Part I, Information / Instructions to Proposers Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 13 of 13 C. If Proposer requests that the District withhold from disclosure information identified as confidential, and the District complies with the Proposer s request, Proposer shall assume all responsibility for any challenges resulting from the non-disclosure, indemnify and hold harmless the District from and against all damages (including but not limited to attorneys fees that may be awarded to the party requesting the Proposer information), and pay any and all costs and expenses related to the withholding of Proposer information. Proposer shall not make a claim, sue, or maintain any legal action against the District or its directors, officers, employees, or agents concerning the withholding from disclosure of Proposer information. D. If Proposer does not request that the District withhold from disclosure information identified as confidential, the District shall have no obligation to withhold the information from disclosure and may release the information sought without any liability to the District.

16 PROCUREMENT & CONTRACTS DIVISION REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS PART II SCOPE OF SERVICES / SPECIFICATIONS

17 Part II, Scope of Services / Specifications Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 2 of 13 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. PURPOSE BACKGROUND SCOPE OF SERVICES... 3

18 Part II, Scope of Services / Specifications Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 3 of PURPOSE The Alameda County Water District (District) invites qualified Firms to submit proposals to provide comprehensive banking services (Services) for its bank accounts and related depository and cash management operations and Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment services. The District seeks a Firm (or Firms) that demonstrates a strong commitment to customer service through its products and services in addition to cost savings. This Request for Proposal (RFP) has been divided into five (5) Service Groups. Institutions may propose to provide one or more of these Service Groups: Service Group 1: General Banking Services Service Group 2: Retail Lockbox Services Service Group 3: Line of Credit Service Group 4: Merchant Card Services Service Group 5: Electronic Bill Presentment & Payment (EBPP) The District recognizes that all of the services requested under this solicitation are unlikely to be provided by one Firm. This RFP is designed to allow each Firm to identify which of the five required Service Groups it can provide. Each Service Group will be evaluated separately so as to compare proposals equitably. However, it is anticipated only one institution will be selected for each Service Group. The District reserves the right to award multiple banking services contracts and/or to award more than one Service Group to an institution if it is deemed to be in the best interest of the District to do so. 2. BACKGROUND The District s primary objective is to evaluate the current market environment for banking services, and establish a contract(s) with a financially secure institution(s) that best meets the needs of the District and offers the highest quality of service at the lowest overall cost. The District wishes to create efficiencies, make improvements where possible, and take advantage of new technologies. Therefore, the District has determined that a review of the services offered by qualifying institutions is appropriate at this time. While the District s primary banking relationship has been with Bank of the West, it has established relationships with other financial institutions. It is the District s preference to consolidate its commercial banking services, if feasible, to maximize cash flow and minimize administrative costs.

19 Part II, Scope of Services / Specifications Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 4 of SCOPE OF SERVICES 3.1. SERVICE GROUP 1: GENERAL BANKING SERVICES Current Banking Structure The District currently uses ten (10) demand deposit accounts, including four (4) Zero Balance Accounts (ZBA). The current account structure is shown below: 1. General Fund Checking District s main concentration account 2. EFT Account (ZBA) - Accepts deposits from different payment sources; Account gets swept daily into General Fund Checking 3. Warrant Account (ZBA) Used to pay for the weekly Accounts Payable check run and wire payments 4. Customer Refund Account (ZBA) Used to pay customer refund checks 5. Payroll Account (ZBA) Used to pay biweekly payroll 6. Special HR Retiree Health Reimbursement Account Used to pay for monthly retiree health reimbursement checks. 7. Pay Station Account Deposit only account for customers paying their utility bill at a bank branch 8. Petty Cash Account Used to write emergency petty cash checks in the amount of $50 and over 9. Savings Account Restricted deposits for developer fees 10. Investment Trading Account used to settle investment trades and interest income Bank Balances & ECR The District closely monitors its daily cash position and periodically transfers funds to the Local Agency Investment Fund (LAIF). Therefore, the average collected balance with the bank is relatively low at $2.9 million for the 12 months ending August Over the course of the 12 months, balances fluctuated between $1.8 million and $5.7 million. The District is currently using compensating balances to generate earnings credits, which offset service fees. Balances in excess of FDIC insurance must be collateralized in accordance with Section et seq. of the California Government Code. Coin & Currency The District periodically needs the Firm to furnish coin and currency. The District places a coin and currency order approximately 3 to 4 times per month. Coin and currency is picked up by an armored car provider, Brinks (provided as a service by Bank of the West). In total, these monthly orders total $458 in currency and 12 rolls of coin. Current ERP System The District is currently using J.D. Edwards (v 9.1) for finance and payroll, and Cayenta (v 7.5, upgrading to 7.9 by Q2 2017) as its customer service and billing system. Required Services Include: a. Establish a minimum of nine (9) demand deposit accounts to meet the banking requirements of the District (the Pay Station Account will not be needed).

20 Part II, Scope of Services / Specifications Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 5 of 13 b. Assign an experienced primary relationship manager to the District, and dedicated customer support from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PT on all business days. c. Fulfill orders for currency and coin through an armored car provider, or supply coin and currency from a vault location when needed. d. Provide an earnings credit on compensating balances. e. Collateralize all collected balances, in excess of balances insured by the FDIC, as per the collateral requirements of the State of California. Deposit Information The District has one administrative location in Fremont, California. This location collects approximately 35,200 checks per year, mainly from walk-in payments. Volumes are fairly consistent on a monthly basis. All of these checks are processed by remote deposit capture ( RDC ). Any check that is unable to be processed through RDC is mixed with the cash deposit picked up by armored car. Historically, this has only been 4-6 checks per month. The District currently owns one remote deposit scanner (Model: Epson EFC-01), but is interested in adding two additional scanners. The District also collects approximately $9,100 in cash and coin each week. These funds are currently transported to the bank by armored car once per week. Armored Car Brinks, the current armored car provider, picks up deposits once a week from the District s administrative headquarters. The deposits are secured in tamper-evident plastic bags, and are mixed deposits of mostly cash and some checks that could not be processed through RDC. There is one deposit ticket per bag, and two deposit bags per day. Payment Consolidator Service or e-lockbox The District also receives utility payments through several electronic channels. The chart below lists the different channels with their respective volume. Currently, these payments come into the District separately. The District is very interested in looking at payment consolidator services that can consolidate these payments. Although these volumes are listed under Service Group 1, they are also included with Service Group 2. The District is seeking the most effective and efficient solution for processing the details of these payments. Collection Channels Annual Volume Annual Qty. of Payments BILLMATRIX $5.5 million 44,360 METAVANTE $746,491 6,662 CHECKFREE $14.7 million 145,844 ONLINE RESOURCES $4.3 million 35,843

21 Part II, Scope of Services / Specifications Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 6 of 13 Required Services Include: a. Process the deposit of approximately 2,900 checks per month by remote deposit capture. b. Process the collection of approximately $9,100 in coin and currency per week at a local branch or vault location. Desired Services Include: a. Consolidate information from bill-payer sites and transmit to the District (a desired, but not mandatory service consolidation services are further described in Sections 3.1 and 3.2). Disbursement Information The District disburses approximately 450 checks per month for accounts payable, payroll and customer refunds. Accounts payable checks are disbursed weekly on Friday, and payroll checks are disbursed every other week on Thursday. Positive Pay services are currently used on two accounts. The District would like to implement Payee Positive Pay. The District occasionally issues instant-issue checks out of the Petty Cash Account. Currently, 219 of the District s employees are paid via direct deposit, while 16 are paid by check. The dollar amount paid by check is approximately $17,000 per pay period. Required Services Include: a. Provide positive pay services with online transmission of check details. b. Provide payee positive pay services with online transmission of check details. c. Provide positive pay exception item review and correction online. d. Provide online access to cleared checks (images of front and back). e. Provide electronic archival of cleared checks (images of front and back). f. Stale-dated items should be reported as a positive pay exception or automatically returned. Electronic Transfer of Funds The District regularly initiates ACH debits and credits, and occasionally Fedwire transfers. The District processes approximately 90 ACH Credits, 19 ACH Debits, and 4-6 Fedwire transfers each month. There are approximately 5,800 customers that allow the District to debit their bank accounts to pay their utility bills. The District refers to this service as their DirectPay Service (DPS). This volume may be included with Service Group 1 or Service Group 5: Electronic Bill Presentment & Payment (EBPP), depending on which offers the best solution and pricing to the District. As part of the evaluation process, Proposers are encouraged to submit aggressive pricing for processing ACH consumer debits should it be necessary to use the firm selected for Service Group 1 to process these payments. 219 employees receive payroll by direct deposit. ACH Payroll files are sent to the bank every other week on Wednesday evening by 5 p.m. Pacific Time, and funds are available in employee bank accounts on Thursday morning. Due to internal processes,

22 Part II, Scope of Services / Specifications Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 7 of 13 the District is unable to send ACH payroll files two days in advance. Therefore, it is imperative that a Proposer is able to meet this requirement. The dollar amount paid by direct deposit is $640,000 to $700,000 per pay period. Currently the District does not pay vendors using ACH. The District is interested in using this payment methodology in the future and shall select the most efficient and cost effective proposal. Through this RFP, the District is seeking to add ACH Debit Blocks / Filters and ACH Positive Pay. Required Services Include: a. Accept and send ACH transactions. b. Accept and send domestic Fedwire transfers. c. Provide ACH Debit Block / Filter services. d. Provide ACH positive pay services. e. Provide a secure electronic method for initiating wire and intra-bank transfers. f. Provide full reporting of ACH addenda information on prior day reports. g. Provide a next-day ACH cutoff time no earlier than 5 p.m. Pacific Time. Reporting The District requires online access to daily reports of balances and transaction information, including prior and current day reporting of ledger balance, available balance, and summary and details of credits/debits posted. Currently, the District has seven (7) employees accessing the bank s online reporting system: four (4) system administrators, two (2) full-access users and one (1) read-only user. The District prefers to be able to access all areas of the Firm s reporting system through a single login. The District receives CD-ROMs of check images, however, online archives of these images is desired. Required Services Include: a. Provide prior day and current day reporting. b. Provide online monthly activity statements and reports for all accounts by the 5th business day of the following month. c. Provide full account reconciliation services for disbursements. d. Provide online check imaging to the District with immediate access to at least one year of data. Check images should be archived. CD-ROMs of cleared checks may also be required. e. Provide online reporting services for users to generate routine and customized reports. f. Provide secure web or online reporting of ledger balance, available balance, and summary and details of credits/debits posted. g. Provide a detailed monthly account analysis statement for each account and a consolidated statement.

23 Part II, Scope of Services / Specifications Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 8 of SERVICE GROUP 2: RETAIL LOCKBOX SERVICES Current Retail Lockbox Overview The District uses a lockbox to process water utility payments. Approximately 11,450 utility payments per month are processed through the lockbox. All payments received are check payments; credit card payments are not accepted. During the fiscal year, $25.9 million was processed through this lockbox. A variety of exception items are currently returned by mail with minimal to no exception handling by the bank for review and processing by District staff. On average, exceptions are received weekly. Exception examples are: checks that do not equal the invoice amount (e.g. $5,000 payment for a $150 invoice); unreconciled single payment for multiple accounts; and checks mailed without a remittance slip. The District is interested in electronic imaging and transmission of lockbox items, as well as online decisioning capabilities. The District desires a proactive approach to exception handling to reduce the volume received for further review and processing. A copy of the District s sample customer water bill/remittance document can be found in Exhibit A. Payment Consolidator Service or e-lockbox The District also receives utility payments through several electronic channels. The chart below lists the different channels with their respective volume. Currently, these payments arrive separately. The District is very interested in payment consolidator services that can consolidate these payments. Collection Channels Annual Volume Annual Qty. of Payments BILLMATRIX $5.5 million 44,360 METAVANTE $746,491 6,662 CHECKFREE $14.7 million 145,844 ONLINE RESOURCES $4.3 million 35,843 The District has maintained an average collected balance of approximately $428,000 in the lockbox Demand Deposit Account (DDA); balances fluctuated between $294,000 and $552,000 throughout the year. Balances in excess of FDIC insurance must be collateralized according to California Government Code. Lockbox Data Transmission The District requires payment information to be consolidated into a.txt file and ed each day for upload into the District s accounts receivable billing system, Cayenta. The current deposit cutoff time at the lockbox is 5 p.m. and a file with prior day payment information is received by 6:00 a.m. each day. Required Services Include: a. Process, including imaging, checks and remittance documents received.

24 Part II, Scope of Services / Specifications Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 9 of 13 b. Provide online access to images of processed items and remittance documents within 24 hours. c. Provide online reporting and download of transaction detail and summary including account numbers and payment amounts. d. Provide exception handling (research and analysis) daily to only provide true exceptions to the District for further processing. e. Provide online exception item review and correction. f. Provide a daily.txt file via with prior day s payment data no later than 6:00 a.m. g. Consolidate information from bill-payer sites and transmit to the District SERVICE GROUP 3: LINE OF CREDIT Overview The District is interested in exploring their options for obtaining an unsecured, revolving line of credit (LOC) of $10 million to $50 million to use for emergencies such as a natural disaster. The LOC would need to be subordinate to the District s outstanding bonds. The District would like to consider one (1), two (2), and three (3) year term structures. The desired terms of the unsecured LOC with renewal options are as following: Term structures: 1 to 3 years Redemption: Redeemable at any time by Alameda County Water District without prepayment penalty. Additional limits and terms are welcome, and would be considered. The District is interested in all available LOC options Proposers can provide. Copies of the District s financial statements can be found on > Transparency Information > ACWD Financial Information. If needed, the Official Statement of the District s last bond issue can also be found in the same location. Required Services Include: a. Provide a line of credit upon District s request SERVICE GROUP 4: MERCHANT CARD SERVICES Overview The District currently accepts credit cards online and over the phone. The District does not own any terminals, so customers wishing to pay with a credit card in person are directed to use a public computer terminal in the teller area where they are able to pay their bill online. If a customer wishes to use a credit card to pay over the phone, a customer service representative will transfer the customer to BillMatrix to make a payment online for them. Customers are currently charged a fee of $3.50 per credit card transaction. The District is considering changing its merchant card acceptance policy and may absorb the

25 Part II, Scope of Services / Specifications Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 10 of 13 interchange and related fees associated with merchant cards, so historical transaction volume would not be a representative indicator of future activity. At a minimum, the District would like to process in-person transactions from walk-in customers, and will need to purchase or lease at least two terminals. The District is also considering enabling field agents to accept merchant card payments while out in the field. Please note: Proposers providing solutions that enable the District to minimize its PCI compliance efforts and provide assistance in meeting its PCI compliance requirements will be given greater consideration than those who do not. Depending on the capabilities of the Firm selected for Service Group 5, the District may need a merchant card processor to facilitate the authorization of payments initiated through the EBPP site. Required Services Include: The District will require that its merchant card vendor provide services on a passthrough basis (versus bundled pricing) and that all fees paid to card-issuing banks, card associations, and the payment processors be disclosed. Monthly statements are needed for each individual merchant ID and a consolidated statement showing charges for all accounts. a. Provide robust online reporting tools and options for downloading transaction/report data. b. Provide a detailed online monthly statement for each individual merchant location and a consolidated statement showing charges for all account services. Clearly split out interchange and assessment fees on monthly analysis statements through a pass-through pricing model. c. Process credit card and debit card payments (MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and Discover). d. Provide Payment Card Industry Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliant merchant card services or contract with a third party processor to do so. e. Provide reliable technical support for terminal troubleshooting, supply reorder, and maintenance. f. Provide reliable support for PCI DSS compliance efforts (ad hoc service, service provider relationship support) and provide detailed online compliance reporting tools. g. Provide pricing for convenience fee model versus absorbed fee model using the Pro Forma provided in Appendix B SERVICE GROUP 5: ELECTRONIC BILL PRESENTMENT & PAYMENT Overview The District has 83,000 customers and bills customers every other month, therefore approximately 41,500 bills are mailed per month. Approximately 10% are walk-in payments and 28% are mailed into the lockbox. The remaining 62% are processed through various collection channels. The following chart summarizes the respective volumes.

26 Part II, Scope of Services / Specifications Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 11 of 13 Collection Channels Annual Volume Annual Qty. of Payments BILLMATRIX $5.5 million 44,360 METAVANTE $746,491 6,662 DPS ACWD s DirectPay (Recurring Pay) Service $12.1 million 67,732 CHECKFREE $14.7 million 145,844 ONLINE RESOURCES $4.3 million 35,843 At a minimum, the District desires the Firm selected for Service Group 5: Electronic Bill Presentment & Payment (EBPP) to offer a robust solution to the District s DirectPay Service. The District s DirectPay Service is facilitated entirely in-house and is administratively burdensome (See description of DPS in Part II, Section 3.1, Electronic Transfer of Funds). The District believes some of the administrative burdens have resulted in customers using alternative payment channels in lieu of allowing the District to electronically debit their bank accounts. As part of this RFP, the District is interested in having an EBPP provider host a website for customers to see their prior bills and enroll in automatic recurring payments and onetime payments. The District is considering accepting merchant cards as an alternative form of payment. In addition, the District would be interested in having the EBPP provider push bills to customers via , SMS text message, or other electronic means and provide seamless functionality for a one-click type method for payment authorization directly from the push bill notification. Pricing For Service Group 5 Although the District is interested in the latest innovations in EBPP options, budgetary constraints will have an impact on the selection process for this Service Group. The District is very interested in understanding the range of options available and the related costs. The District has not ruled out an EBPP option where costs are minimized to the District and borne by the customer with fees charged per transaction. The District would request to provide as much detail as possible so it can select the vendor that best meets its budgetary constraints today, while retaining the ability to add additional enhancements and features in the future. Billing Frequency & Current Online Bill Pay The majority of customers are billed bi-monthly (approximately 50 receive monthly bills), however, the District generates bills daily in PDF format. The District will provide the EBPP provider a file each day with the new bills. Approximately 12,000 customers have registered for electronic billing and receive their invoices via .

27 Part II, Scope of Services / Specifications Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 12 of 13 The proposed solution should also have the ability to integrate with the District s CIS platform, Cayenta. The proposed solution should also have the ability to integrate with all PCI DSS standards. Highly Desired Services Include: a. Ability for customers to enroll online. b. Provide an online interface where customers can view and pay their bill. c. Create a District branded online payment platform. d. Ability for customers to enroll in automated payments. e. Maintain online user accounts and previous payment methods. f. Ability for customers to make recurring ACH payments without a convenience fee. g. Ability for customers to make one-time ACH payments with or without convenience fees. h. Ability for customers to make one-time payment without creating an account. i. Ability for customers to make recurring merchant card payments without convenience fees. j. Ability for customers to make one-time merchant card payments with or without convenience fees. k. Provide presentment services for the District's 41,500 monthly invoices. l. Offer an interactive voice response ("IVR") system for over-the-phone payments. m. Ability for customers to set a future payment date when paying online. n. Ability to include images of inserts for customers who receive ebilling. o. Ability to see a real-time (prior day is fine) balance, if payments were made between billing cycles. p. Provide a daily.txt file via with prior day s payment information by 6:00 a.m. q. Ability to interface with CIS, CSS (customer self-service) module. This includes the ability to retrieve data from, and push data to the District s various systems via an API. r. Consolidate information from bill-payer sites and transmit to the District. s. Ability to apply payments correctly in CIS via all payment avenues. t. No credit card information to be stored on District equipment/storage. u. Comply with Federal E-Signature Act for paperless billing and auto payment authorization. v. EBPP gateway and processor available 99.99% of the time. w. Twenty-four (24) hour maximum downtime following a catastrophic failure. x. Ability process payments beyond payment due date with balance updated without need of District intervention. y. Provide outline of cyber-security policies/methods. z. Provide District staff access to console with ability to view 12-month historical s sent and received. aa. Ability for District staff to reset password on customer account. bb. Ability for customer to pay multiple accounts within one transaction. cc. Ability to display payment confirmation at conclusion of payment transaction, provide ability for printed receipt, and confirmation within 5-minutes of completed transaction.

28 Part II, Scope of Services / Specifications Title: Banking and EBPP Services Page 13 of 13 dd. Prior successful integration with Cayenta Utilities Billing System. Additional Desired Services Include: a. Provide customers with an based ability to review and pay invoices. b. Provide customers with SMS based payment notification and ability to pay invoices.

29 PROCUREMENT & CONTRACTS DIVISION REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS PART III PROPOSAL CONTENT AND SUBMITTAL