How to win: Online Payments

About this contract

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 the

How to win contracts like this

• ✓Answer against the marking scheme, not the question text — the Education Authority scores each response, so map your evidence to the published criteria and weightings.
• ✓At £15,000,000, expect quality and social value to carry a large share of the score — price alone rarely wins services work.
• ✓Show recent, comparable delivery: name similar services contracts you've delivered for public bodies, with measurable outcomes.
• ✓Start early: it closes 28 August 2026 and a strong bid takes iteration.

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