Payments platform service provider for card-based/voucher grant disbursement solution (12 months)

RFP Release: 31 August 2026 at 10:00 AM. Compulsory Briefing Session: 7 September 2026 at 09:30 AM via Microsoft Teams (Meeting ID: 327 192 217 205 08, Passcode: jj6Qn78x). Companies joining after 09:40 will not be considered to have attended. Written clarification questions close: 11 September 2026 at 16:00. Written responses to clarifications: 18 September 2026 at 16:00. Bid closing: 29 September 2026 at 11:00 AM. Completion of bid evaluations: 12 October 2026 at 16:00. Anticipated letter of award: 20 October 2026 at 16:00. Commencement date: 1 November 2026 at 09:00 AM. All dates are indicative.

Supply Chain Management Unit: email [email protected], phone 031 372 3753. Procurement enquiries: Nicolette Napier, 031 372 3720, [email protected]. Technical enquiries: Mthokozisi Magcaba, 031 372 3720, [email protected]. Complaints: Vuvuzela Hotline email [email protected] or toll-free 0801 000 541. Submission address: email to [email protected].

Submission method: email to [email protected]. Closing date: 29 September 2026 at 11:00 AM. Late submissions will not be accepted. Bids must be submitted on the original tender documentation issued by KZNGFA, written in black ink. Proposals must follow the prescribed format in 13 parts: Part 1 – Invitation to Bid & Introduction; Part 2 – Compliance to Special Conditions of Bid and Noting of Evaluation Criteria; Part 3 – National Treasury CSD report; Part 4 – Bidders Disclosure and Certificate of Authority to Sign a Bid; Part 5 – B-BBEE Certificate / Affidavit; Part 6 – Technical/Functionality Proposal; Part 7 – Deviations from Request for Bid; Part 8 – Procurement Timelines; Part 9 – Terms of Reference; Part 10 – Annexures. All returnable forms must be fully completed and signed. A compulsory briefing session is required (see importantDates). Clarification questions must be submitted in writing by 11 September 2026 at 16:00. Bid validity period: 120 days.

Stage 1 – Administrative Compliance (mandatory): CSD registration; fully completed and signed SBD 1, SBD 4, SBD 6.1; valid SARS Tax Compliance Status PIN or certificate; registration and authorisation as a Third-Party Payment Provider (TPPP) with SARB under the National Payment System Act; B-BBEE verification certificate from SANAS-accredited agency or sworn affidavit (for EMEs/QSEs) to qualify for preference points. No person in the service of the state, companies with directors in the service of the state, or close corporations with members in the service of the state may bid. Joint venture/consortium members must each be CSD compliant and submit separate TCS certificates. Failure to provide any mandatory document renders the bid non-responsive. Stage 2 & 3 – Functionality evaluation: responsive bids evaluated against criteria, weightings and threshold scores (details in C.7 Evaluation Requirements). Preference points: 80/20 or 90/10 system per PPPFA. Bid Adjudication Committee makes final award. KZNGFA reserves the right to award in full or part, and is not obliged to accept the lowest or any bid.

Scope: Implement, operate and support a card-based/voucher grant disbursement solution (OVF Card system) for 12 months. Platform must support end-to-end administration of non-repayable grant disbursements: beneficiary management, OVF Card/voucher generation and activation, approved goods management, supplier claims processing, approvals workflow, payment processing support, post-disbursement auditing, reporting and analytics. System must prevent cash withdrawal, person-to-person transfers, unauthorised merchant payments; enforce MCC restrictions, supplier whitelist, product catalogue controls, transaction limits. Beneficiary onboarding and card/voucher administration; bulk uploads from Excel (CSV/XLSX); SMS/email notifications; compliance with financial, information security and regulatory standards; training and technical support. Service provider responsibilities: issue card/voucher, maintain payment platform, process and validate transactions, maintain transaction records, provide dashboards, reconcile funds. No grant approval authority. System architecture: requirements gathering, database/infrastructure configuration, cloud or on-premises hosting, disaster recovery and business continuity, cybersecurity controls, testing and deployment. Portal requirements: beneficiary validation tools, display approved balances, real-time payment/redemption, prevent unauthorised redemptions, auto-calculate remaining balances, audit logs of supplier activities. Security: PCI DSS Level 1, ISO 27001, POPIA, cybersecurity best practices. Technology: web-based responsive platform, mobile-friendly, high-availability infrastructure, secure hosting, redundancy/failover, automated backups, monitoring, performance optimisation. Deliverables: reporting dashboards, training manuals, security assessment reports. OVF Card/Voucher platform modules: Beneficiary Management (bulk upload, validation, duplicate detection, demographics, grant info, status tracking, documents, orientation/contract tracking, search/filter, audit trails); Card/Voucher Generation (unique cards/vouchers, activation codes, expiry dates, spending limits, supplier/product restrictions, partial redemption, suspension/cancellation, auto-deactivation, redemption history); Activation (only after orientation and signed contract, authorised officials only, audit logs, SMS/email notifications); Supplier Claim Processing (secure portal, real-time validation of identity, card status, balances, products/quantities, duplicate prevention, pro-forma invoices, document upload, workflow, real-time authorisation, reversal/dispute management, reference numbers, transaction history); Reporting and Analytics (real-time dashboards, beneficiary/utilisation/redemption/audit/financial/exception/fraud reports, export to Excel/CSV/PDF, monthly reconciliation, exception reporting, unused balance reporting, daily automated reconciliation of allocated funds, card balances, transactions, supplier settlements, remaining balances). Accounting treatment: bidder must explain where funds are held, who owns funds, ring-fencing, reconciliation process, treatment of unused balances. Supplier payment accreditation: must be registered and authorised as a Third-Party Payment Provider (TPPP) within the South African National Payment System (NPS) and comply with SARB Directive under the National Payment System Act; maintain registration throughout contract term. May act as payment facilitator under valid arrangement with acquiring bank, payment-card/voucher association, or authorised payment service providers; comply with SARB Directive and all applicable regulatory requirements. Project methodology: outline approach for project initiation, training, support and maintenance. SLA requirements: system availability 99.5% uptime; critical incident response within 1 hour; high-priority within 4 hours; medium within 8 hours; low within 24 hours; daily backup frequency; disaster recovery time objective maximum 4 hours. Data ownership: all data remains property of Provincial Government; confidentiality agreements required; POPIA compliance.

Bidder must outline methodology to meet scope of work and business requirements, demonstrating how the project can be completed within a reasonable period. Response on project management approach and methodology must provide details on: Project Initiation; Training; Support and Maintenance.

System architecture and implementation: supplier shall conduct requirements gathering and business analysis; configure databases and infrastructure; provide cloud or on-premises hosting options; provide disaster recovery and business continuity capabilities; provide cybersecurity controls; conduct testing and deployment. Portal must provide beneficiary validation tools; display approved beneficiary balances; support real-time card/voucher payment/redemption; prevent unauthorised redemptions; automatically calculate remaining balances; maintain audit logs of supplier activities. Security requirements: demonstrate compliance or alignment with PCI DSS Level 1, ISO 27001, POPIA, cybersecurity best practices. Technology requirements: web-based responsive platform; mobile-friendly access; high-availability infrastructure; secure hosting environment; redundancy and failover capabilities; automated backups; monitoring tools; performance optimisation. Preferred technologies: modern web application frameworks; relational database systems; secure API management tools; business intelligence and analytics tools. Deliverables: reporting dashboards; training manuals; security assessment reports. SLA requirements: system availability 99.5% uptime; critical incident response within 1 hour; high-priority within 4 hours; medium within 8 hours; low within 24 hours; daily backup frequency; disaster recovery time objective maximum 4 hours. Data ownership and confidentiality: all data remains property of Provincial Government; service provider shall not disclose information to unauthorised parties; confidentiality agreements required; POPIA compliance.

Pricing: prices quoted must include VAT where applicable. KZNGFA is a VAT vendor and reserves the right to request the preferred bidder to register for VAT if award exceeds R1 million over 12 months. Payment terms: KZNGFA will pay for actual services rendered in line with the SLA; invoices must comply with section 20 of VAT Act; payment within 30 days of receipt of acceptable, valid invoice; banking details to be submitted on award. No specific pricing schedule format detailed in extracted text (C.15 PRICING SCHEDULE referenced but content not provided). No bond, guarantee or insurance requirements stated. Financial capacity thresholds not specified.

Mandatory compliance documents: CSD registration (verified on https://secure.csd.gov.za); fully completed and signed SBD 1 (Invitation to Bid), SBD 4 (Bidder's Disclosure), SBD 6.1 (Preference Points Claim); valid SARS Tax Compliance Status PIN or printed TCS certificate (each JV/sub-contractor party must submit separate); B-BBEE verification certificate from SANAS-accredited agency or sworn affidavit (for EMEs/QSEs) to qualify for preference points; Certificate of Authority to Sign a Bid (board resolution); Joint venture/consortium agreement (if applicable); General Conditions of Contract (GCC) initialled and signed; Special Conditions of Contract (SCC) initialled and signed. Registration and authorisation as a Third-Party Payment Provider (TPPP) with SARB under the National Payment System Act, maintained throughout contract term. No bids from persons in service of the state, companies with directors in service of the state, or close corporations with members in service of the state. Foreign suppliers must complete questionnaire. Declaration of fraudulent documents: bid disregarded if bidder/directors abused SCM system or committed fraud. Bid validity: 120 days. All returnable forms must be completed on original tender documentation (not re-typed).

Contract basis: KZNGFA Service Level Agreement (SLA) will be the only contract signed by both parties; KZNGFA's terms and conditions will not be negotiated. Intellectual property: copyright of all documentation relating to the assignment belongs to KZNGFA; all IP rights arising from execution of the Agreement vest in KZNGFA; service provider may not disclose information, documentation or products to other clients without written approval of accounting authority or delegate; prior written permission required from KZNGFA to use any information or data generated; KZNGFA owns all materials produced by service provider during the Services including deliverables, computer programmes (source and object code), programming aids and tools, documentation, reports, data, designs, concepts, know-how. Payment: KZNGFA pays for actual services rendered in line with SLA; invoices must comply with section 20 of VAT Act; payment within 30 days of receipt of acceptable, valid invoice; banking details submitted on award. Non-compliance with delivery terms: immediate written notice required; KZNGFA reserves right to implement remedies per SLA. Warranties: service provider warrants ability to conclude Agreement to KZNGFA's satisfaction; no involvement in competing/conflicting business without prior written consent. Waiver: no waiver of breach prejudices remedies for continuing/other breaches; no favour, delay, relaxation or indulgence operates as waiver of power/right. Confidentiality: bid and all information held in strict confidence; usage limited to bid preparation; bidders bound by confidentiality agreement preventing unauthorised disclosure of KZNGFA information. Additional information: during evaluation, additional information may be requested in writing; replies within 5 working days or as indicated; failure to comply may lead to bid being disregarded. Presentations: KZNGFA reserves right to invite bidders for presentations before award; presentations may affect functionality points. Negotiation: KZNGFA may negotiate terms and conditions including price; not obliged to accept lowest or any financial offer; not obliged to award to highest ranking bidder per PPPFA. Domicilium: parties choose domicilium citandi et executandi for final contract. Cost of bid preparation: bidders bear own costs. Bid validity: 120 days; bidder holds tender offer valid for acceptance during validity period; may extend if requested by employer. Addenda: KZNGFA may issue addenda until seven days before closing; tenderers must sign attendance list; addenda issued only to entities on attendance list; tenderers must acknowledge receipt in writing. Fraudulent documents: bid disregarded if bidder/directors abused SCM system or committed fraud; bidders/directors listed as restricted suppliers. GCC and SCC must be initialled and signed.