NEPO532 Financial Innovation and Digital Payments

Leicestershire County Council, trading as ESPOcontractFind a TenderRef ocds-h6vhtk-0683b3Procurement Act 2023SME suitableVCSE suitableplanned

Estimated value

services

Awarded value

Suppliers

0

Lots

1

0 awarded

Published

22 Apr 2026

This is a preliminary market engagement notice

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Description

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

Scope

Reference
NEPO532
Commercial tool
Standalone contract
Contract dates
18 Jan 2027 to 17 Jan 2031
Possible extension to 17 Jan 2033
Main category
services
CPV classifications
30160000
48812000
66000000
Contract locations
UK, United Kingdom
GG, Guernsey
IM, Isle of Man
JE, Jersey
Particular suitability
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)Voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSE)