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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

NEPO532 Financial Innovation and Digital Payments

The Association of North East Councils Limited · Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 2 Oct 2026, 18:56.

Opportunity overview

NEPO in collaboration with ESPO and YPO are seeking to establish a new solution in relation to the supply of Financial Innovation and Digital Payments. It is envisaged that the solution will comprise seven lots: Lot 1 - Digital & Mobile Payments Providing solutions for smartphone payments, mobile wallets, contactless transactions, QR code scanning, and peer-to-peer payment apps, enabling secure, convenient, and inclusive digital payment experiences. Lot 2 - Data, Intelligence & Cloud Financial Solutions Offering cloud-based platforms for accounting, budgeting, forecasting, and analytics, alongside market intelligence tools for spend analysis, tender alerts, and supplier risk assessment, driving efficiency and informed decision-making. Lot 3 - Transport & Technology Payments Delivering payment systems for public transport and mobility services, including automated fare collection, contactless transit payments, parking and toll solutions, and MaaS platforms to modernise transport infrastructure. Lot 4 - Open Banking & API Services Providing secure, API-driven payment initiation and account aggregation tools, enabling real-time financial data access and seamless integration with existing systems to support innovation and transparency. Lot 5 - Payment Acceptance & Merchant Acquiring Facilitating card-present and card-not-present payment processing, POS systems, online gateways, and merchant acquiring services to ensure secure, efficient revenue collection across multiple channels. Lot 6- Bill Payment Solutions Enabling secure, compliant collection of bills, rents, fees, and other receivables across online, mobile, direct debit, card, bank transfer, open banking, telephone/IVR, kiosk, and retail cash channels, integrating with core systems to provide reconciliation, real‑time visibility, and auditability for reliable, accessible income collection. Lot 7 - Financial Innovation Driving adoption of emerging technologies such as AI, embedded finance, RegTech, cryptocurrency management, and green finance initiatives, fostering innovation and future-ready financial ecosystems. The above lot structure is indicative at this stage and is under ongoing development. It may be subject to change as NEPO, in collaboration with ESPO and YPO, continues to refine the scope of the solution. •NEPO is a Centralised Procurement Authority as defined in the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23), providing central purchasing activity on behalf of Contracting Authorities. •The agreement will be available to NEPO Member Authorities and all current and future Associate Members. Current Associate Members are listed in the Associate Member section of the NEPO website at: https://www.nepo.org/associate-members •NEPO intends to make the agreement available for use by all Contracting Authorities throughout all administrative regions of the UK (as defined by the Procurement Act 2023). •A list of permissible users available at: https://www.nepo.org/associate-membership/permissible-users •Organisations wishing to access the NEPO agreement will be required to register as a NEPO Associate Member in the first instance. Further information can be found at: www.nepo.org

Classification

  • CPV30160000 — Magnetic cards
  • CPV48812000 — Financial information systems
  • CPV66000000 — Financial and insurance services

Lots

  • Lot 1Value not stated

Documents and notices

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
NEPO532
Main Procurement Category
services
Status
planned

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Techniques

Has Framework Agreement
Yes

Communication

Future Notice Date
23 Jul 2026, 23:59

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Has Renewal
Yes
Status
planned

Suitability

Sme
Yes
Vcse
Yes

Contract period

Starts
18 Jan 2027, 00:00
Ends
17 Jan 2031, 23:59
Max Extent Date
17 Jan 2033, 23:59

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
CPV
Id
30160000
Description
Magnetic cards
Entry 2
Scheme
CPV
Id
48812000
Description
Financial information systems
Entry 3
Scheme
CPV
Id
66000000
Description
Financial and insurance services

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UK
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 2
Region
GG
Country
GG
Country Name
Guernsey
Entry 3
Region
IM
Country
IM
Country Name
Isle of Man
Entry 4
Region
JE
Country
JE
Country Name
Jersey

Planning and budget

Milestones

Entry 1
Id
engagement
Type
engagement
Description
NEPO intends to hold meetings with interested suppliers via Microsoft Teams during the period from May to June 2026. A presentation will be given by NEPO and there will be an opportunity to ask questions in the session. Time slots will be provided to those whom express an interest in attending a session by contacting corporate.services@nepo.org. Attendance at the Microsoft Teams meeting is optional and does not provide suppliers with an advantage in any future related procurement. Attendance also does not constitute as an intention to tender for any future related procurement. Please note the above information may be subject to change and is indicative only. NEPO also intend to publish a preliminary market engagement questionnaire via Open e-Tendering system www.open-uk.org . The questionnaire responses will help NEPO design the framework by providing the level of market interest and provide insight from suppliers on the shaping of the future provision. The questionnaire will be made accessible via the Open e-Tendering system during market engagement. Suppliers wishing to access and complete the questionnaire must first register on the e-Tendering system using the following link https://open-uk.org For guidance on how to create an account or submit your questionnaire response through Open, please visit https://www.open-hub.org/training To access the available Training Guides. If you need technical assistance from the Open Support team, this can be requested via open.support@nepo.org. PLEASE NOTE: Open is accessible 24/7 however, technical support is available Monday to Thursday 08:30 - 17:00 and Friday 08:30 - 16:30.
Due
30 Jun 2026, 23:59
Status
scheduled

Documents

Entry 1
Id
036407-2026
Document Type
marketEngagementNotice
Notice Type
UK2
Description
Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Published
22 Apr 2026, 09:31
Format
text/html

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Name
The Association of North East Councils Limited
Id
GB-COH-05014821

Identifier

Scheme
GB-COH
Id
05014821

Additional Identifiers

Entry 1
Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PYVX-2132-JNMM

Address

Street Address
Northern Design Centre
Locality
Gateshead
Postal Code
NE8 3DF
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKC22

Contact

Roles

buyer

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Id
publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment
Description
Public authority - sub-central government
Organisation 2
Name
Leicestershire County Council, trading as ESPO
Id
GB-PPON-PYDD-1122-TCVN

Identifier

Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PYDD-1122-TCVN

Address

Street Address
Barnsdale Way, Grove Park, Enderby
Locality
Leicester
Postal Code
LE19 1ES
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKF22

Contact

Roles

buyer

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Id
publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment
Description
Public authority - sub-central government
Organisation 3
Name
Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation
Id
GB-PPON-PMRV-4748-MNJV

Identifier

Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PMRV-4748-MNJV

Address

Street Address
41 Industrial Park
Locality
Wakefield
Postal Code
WF2 0XE
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKE45

Contact

Roles

buyer

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Id
publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment
Description
Public authority - sub-central government

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Gateshead · UKC22 · NE8 3DF · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · GG · Guernsey
  • Delivery location · IM · Isle of Man
  • Delivery location · JE · Jersey
  • Delivery location · UK · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

2 published notice versions reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

2 VERSIONS
  1. 034491-2026Pipeline notice on Find a Tender ·
  2. 036407-2026Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ·