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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Online Payments

the Education Authority · Tender notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 26 Sept 2026, 06:02.

Opportunity overview

The EA invites tenders for a Provision of an Online Payment Solution. The scope of this procurement is to provide an accessible, secure Online Payment Solution (OLP) for schools, minimising the need for and risks and costs associated with cash handling in these schools. The legacy process of schools receiving monies from parents is one that involves sending cash or cheques with pupils to school. Payments cover a range of items and activities e.g. school meals, milk, school trips, clubs, and equipment purchase. The OLP system will facilite usage by parents to pay for a range of activities for the duration of the Contract. The Contract will be valid for a period of five years, with the option to extend for period / s up to 24 months, subject to funding. At the time of tender issue (June 2026) there is no formal EA wide contract to provide online payment facilities to the schools by the EA, however, some schools have independently procured and implemented their own solutions over recent years. This Contract is let by the Northern Ireland Education Authority (“EA”) and is open to the EA, including the NI educational bodies listed below. At some point during the life of the Contract these bodies may wish to utilise the Contract (though they are not obligated to do so) and must have access, at any point, with the permission of EA. This Contract is not intended to replace any current agreements that participating or non-participating institutions may already have in place. These bodies include; Primary, Post Primary and Special schools under the control of the EA, Catholic Maintained Schools, Independent Schools in NI, Irish Medium Schools in NI, both Controlled and Voluntary Grammar Schools, Nursery School for NI (both controlled and Catholic Maintained) (https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/services/schools-plus)

Classification

  • CPV48000000 — Software package and information systems
  • CPV50324000 — Support services of personal computers
  • CPV72000000 — IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

Lots

  • Lot 1£15m

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
EDIS-25-003
Status
active
Procurement Method
open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Main Procurement Category
services
Above Threshold
Yes
How to submit
Tender must be submitted electronically via the following; https://etendersni.gov.uk/
Published risks
This is a new Contract for EA, and at the time of tender issue (June 2026) there is no formal EA wide contract to provide online payment facilities to the schools by the EA, however, some schools have independently procured and implemented their own solutions over recent years. EA has limited access to that data, and the tender value has been estimated based upon the notional data within the Financial Response document. As such, demand on the Contract may be greater or less than the value estimate provided. The Buyer cannot guarantee any level of business but reserves the right to increase the value of the Contract should demand on the Contract be greater than estimated, either in relation to usage, transaction fees or any other demand led cost under the Contract. Suppliers should note that, due to the demand-led and variable nature of onboarding schools to the Online Payment System, payments will be proportionate to actual uptake achieved.

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Covered By

GPA

Submission terms

Electronic Submission Policy
allowed

Languages

en

Tender Period

Ends
28 Aug 2026, 15:00

Enquiry period

Ends
4 Aug 2026, 15:00

Expected award period

Ends
30 Nov 2026, 23:59

Lot Details

No Lots Division Rationale
Responses to the preliminary market engagement exercise indicated a strong competitive market for a single Online Payments System

Contract terms

Financial Terms
Payment Milestones will be structured around a combination of fixed and activity-based milestones, reflecting the phased implementation approach and the variable nature of supplier revenues linked to the uptake of the Online Payment System. Initial milestones for Technical Set-up and Implementation, and Non-Technical Set-up and Implementation (for the Pilot Phase), will be delivered over defined periods from contract commencement and costs paid following completion of the Satisfaction Certificate by the Buyer (please refer to Mid Tier Schedule 8 Implementation Plan and Testing). Following completion of the pilot phase, payment milestones will transition to a recurring quarterly model (Quarterly Online Payment Solution Uptake & Payment Milestone) aligned to the Phase 1 and Phase 2 Implementation Plan as outlined in section 6 of the Specification of Requirements. These milestones are linked to the number of schools onboarded in each quarterly period and will be paid based on the costs provided within the Financial Response. Suppliers should note that, due to the demand-led and variable nature of onboarding schools to the Online Payment System, payments will be proportionate to actual uptake achieved.

Amendments

Entry 1
Description
The Education Authority wishes to advise all interested suppliers that the original tender submission deadline has been extended. The deadline for receipt of tender submissions has been extended until the 28 August 2026 at 15:00 (BST). The deadline for receipt of tender clarifications has also been extended until the 19 August 2026 at 15:00 (BST).
Id
075260-2026

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
active
Has Renewal
Yes

Value

Including VAT
18,000,000
Amount
15,000,000
Currency
GBP

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Type
quality
Name
AC1 Implementation

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
12
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 2
Type
quality
Name
AC2 Integration

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
8
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 3
Type
quality
Name
AC3 Reporting

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
2
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 4
Type
quality
Name
AC4 Testing

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
5
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 5
Type
quality
Name
AC5 Training

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
5
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 6
Type
quality
Name
AC6 Ongoing Support

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
8
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 7
Type
quality
Name
AC7 Social Value

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
10
Weight
percentageExact
Criterion 8
Type
price
Name
AC8 Price

Numbers

Entry 1
Number
50
Weight
percentageExact

Selection criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Type
economic
Description
N/A
Criterion 2
Type
technical
Description
The conditions of participation relating to technical ability are contained in the procurement document “EdiS-25-003 Specific Tender Instructions and Assessment Methodology”. EA will assess responses to the conditions of participation relating to technical ability in accordance with the scoring method and scoring matrix provided within the procurement document in reation to question CoP 1 Capability and Expertise.

Contract period

Starts
8 Jan 2027, 00:00
Ends
7 Jan 2032, 23:59
Max Extent Date
6 Jan 2034, 23:59

Renewal

Description
For period/s up to 24 months at EA's sole discretion and subject to business case approval.

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
CPV
Id
48000000
Description
Software package and information systems
Entry 2
Scheme
CPV
Id
72000000
Description
IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
Entry 3
Scheme
CPV
Id
50324000
Description
Support services of personal computers

Published documents

Entry 1
Id
conflictOfInterest
Document Type
conflictOfInterest
Description
Not published
Entry 2
Id
075260-2026
Document Type
tenderNotice
Notice Type
UK4
Description
Tender notice on Find a Tender
Published
7 Aug 2026, 12:19
Format
text/html

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Name
the Education Authority
Id
GB-PPON-PPHJ-6982-JPXY

Identifier

Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PPHJ-6982-JPXY

Address

Street Address
40 Academy Street
Locality
Belfast
Postal Code
BT12NQ
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKN06

Contact

Roles

buyer

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Id
publicAuthorityCentralGovernment
Description
Public authority - central government
Entry 2
Scheme
UK_CA_DEVOLVED_REGULATIONS
Id
GB-NIR
Description
Northern Irish devolved regulations apply

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Belfast · UKN06 · BT12NQ · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

3 published notice versions reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

3 VERSIONS
  1. 035395-2026Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ·
  2. 057787-2026Tender notice on Find a Tender ·
  3. 075260-2026Tender notice on Find a Tender ·