The procurement contact named on the official notice.

The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at https://procontract.due-north.com/Login Tenderers are requested to open the ProContract link for the Merchant Acquirer, Payment Gateway, Equipment and Open Banking Service Agreement to access the procurement documents. Interested suppliers must obtain an Invitation to Tender by registering an expression of interest for the opportunity entitled 'Merchant Acquirer, Payment Gateway, Equipment and Open Banking Service Agreement' on the eTendering application ProContract via https://procontract.due-north.com/Login Any submissions that are not submitted by the ProContract eTendering tool will be disqualified. A series of discrete online 'Bidders Event's' will be hosted on Microsoft Teams and will include a short presentation on the scope of the opportunity, timeframe and procurement process. TfGM expects that these will be scheduled to take place between the 30th June 2026 and the 2nd July 2026. Please contact procurement.MA@tfgm.com in order to register an intention to attend. Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address. Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted electronically via the above mentioned address.

The submission route named on the official notice.

Transport for Greater Manchester ("TfGM") now wish to procure a Merchant Acquirer, Payment Gateway, Equipment and Open Banking Service Agreement ("Agreement") which will enable the Implementation, Operation and Maintenance of a Merchant Acquiring Service, Payment Gateway Service (Option), Merchant Acquiring Equipment (Option), and Open Banking Service (Option) that will support delivery of TfGM's Ticketing Schemes and Revenue Collection.

Given that over the term of the Agreement , TfGM's Ticketing Schemes will be subject to frequent revision and development, re-configuration and extension of the Merchant Acquiring Service, Payment Gateway Service (Option), Merchant Acquiring Equipment (Option), and Open Banking Service (Option) may be required to a number of additional transport and associated modes (in addition to the modes that are currently within the scope of the of existing TfGM Ticketing Schemes).

Consequently, the Merchant Acquirer, Payment Gateway, Equipment and Open Banking Service Agreement ("Agreement") may be deployed to support Ticketing Schemes on (but not limited to) Tram, Light Rail, Bus, Heavy Rail, Taxi, Car-Club, Car-Hire, Parking and Park and Ride, Micro mobility, Active Travel and other travel modes.

The Supplier shall provide a Merchant Acquiring Service that shall include the: • set up and configuration of the Merchant Acquiring Service; • processing, settlement and accounting of payments (one off and recurring payments) made with payment networks (such as Visa and Mastercard) enabling the Authority to accept debit or credit cards for payment of goods or services, as well as alternative payment methods (such as Direct Debit); • support for the Authority's e-Commerce, Retail, Transit and Merchant Initiated payment channels, and Card Present and Card Not Present payment methods; • integration with the Authority's Payment Gateway Services (Supplier provided and other third party) and other issuing banks facilitating Authorisation, Payment and Settlement processes; • integration with the Transit Back Office (CBMBO Service) via a secure network; • integration of Equipment with Payment Gateway Services (Supplier and third party provision) and Merchant Acquirer to facilitate Card Present and Card Not Present payment methods; • handling of Refunds, Reversals and Chargebacks; and • provision of other Merchant Acquiring core services.

The Supplier shall provide a Payment Gateway Service (Option) that shall include the: • provision of interfaces to accept one-off Payments from debit or credit cards, and alternative payment methods, and recurring card payments; • support for the transmission of Transaction Data from the Payer to the relevant Merchant Acquirer and the transmission of the response and related data from the Merchant Acquirer to the Authority, ensuring that a secure connection is used between the Authority's website, the Payer, the Payment Gateway Services and the Merchant Acquiring Services at all times; • integration with the Authority's Merchant Acquiring Service (Supplier provided or third party), Merchant Acquiring Equipment, Card Schemes and Issuing Banks; and • interfaces and integration tools to support e-Commerce and Retail payment channels, and both Card Present and Card Not Present payment methods.

The Supplier shall provide Merchant Acquiring Equipment that shall include the: • provision of Payment Terminals (e.g.

POIs) for face-to-face and unattended payment transactions, facilitating processing, settlement and accounting of payments for the Authority's Retail channels and both POS and MPOS equipment; • provision of data and reports related to payment transactions; and • provision of other Merchant Acquiring Equipment core services.

The Supplier shall provide an Open Banking Service that shall include the enablement of: • payments including Transit payments and recurring payments such as account top ups (extending similar capabilities offered for EMV and Direct Debit); and • account information services such as to obtain details of account balances and transactions, and other account / customer-based checks and verifications.

Additionally, the Merchant Acquirer, Payment Gateway, Equipment and Open Banking Service Agreement will require Implementation Services to implement, test and deploy both the Merchant Acquiring Service, Payment Gateway Service (Option), Merchant Acquiring Equipment (Option), and Open Banking Service (Option), following which an Operational Service will be provided.

Potential Supplier Solutions will work in conjunction with TfGM (and where necessary Third-Party) Portals, Ticket Vending Machines (TVM's), Contactless Bankcard Middle and Back Office (CBMBO) Service, Electronic Ticket Machine (ETM's) Service, Platform Validator and Field Equipment Service, Drivesafe Back Office and other TfGM front-end devices and back-office systems as may be required.

The Services that are provided under the Agreement will in each case need to comply with the PCI DSS (Payment Card Industries Data Security Standards).

Since TfGM already operates a number of highly successful Ticketing Schemes and Revenue Collection, supplier consideration of the arrangements to successfully transition from existing to new services, will be a critical consideration.