Award

Ask AI about this notice

Summarise, research or assess it with AI

View Markdown

Share this notice

Send this contract to a colleague

Provision of Merchant Acquirer Services

THE DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT

This public procurement record has 8 releases in its history.

TenderUpdate

14 Oct 2026 at 13:24

Tender Notice
TenderUpdate

14 Oct 2026 at 13:16

Tender Notice
TenderUpdate

05 Jul 2022 at 11:00

Tender Notice
TenderUpdate

05 Jul 2022 at 10:31

Tender Notice
Award

27 Jun 2022 at 10:53

Award Notice
Award

27 Jun 2022 at 09:46

Award Notice
TenderUpdate

14 Apr 2021 at 22:55

Tender Notice
Tender

18 Mar 2021 at 22:56

Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Transport, through the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), procured merchant acquiring services to process credit and debit card payments. The service covers internet payments and transactions where the cardholder is present or not present, with online, manual and telephone processing. It includes integration with DVLA systems, rented chip-and-PIN terminals, and online payment and settlement. A separate e-commerce gateway lot covers receiving, transferring and accounting for domestic and foreign payments made by card or alternative payment methods. The services support DVLA payment channels, including vehicle licensing, personalised registrations, driving licence applications and penalty payments. Delivery is for DVLA in Swansea, with gateway services described as serving UK public sector bodies.

The procurement has been awarded and the contracts are active. It used an open procedure, with bids assessed on cost and quality; the stated breakdown for the first lot was 70% cost and 30% quality. Six bids were recorded for that lot. Barclays Bank PLC is identified in an amendment as the supplier. The merchant acquiring contract was signed on 31 May 2022 and is valued at £69.17 million. Its end date was extended to 31 May 2027 after two one-year extension options were exercised on 31 January 2025. The acquiring lot is marked cancelled in the lot data, despite the recorded active award and contract. The separate gateway lot has an estimated value of £18 million and an initial three-year term, with two optional one-year extensions; the recorded award data does not establish a gateway supplier.

For suppliers considering comparable future DVLA work, this award demonstrates demand for high-volume payment acquiring across both online and cardholder-present channels. Credible providers would need to process card transactions through online, manual and telephone routes, connect reliably with the buyer’s systems, supply and support rented chip-and-PIN terminals, and provide internet-based payment and settlement. The related gateway requirement also points to capability in handling domestic and foreign payment flows, e-commerce payments and alternative payment methods. Suppliers should be able to support public-facing services such as vehicle licensing, driving licence applications and penalty payments, where payment continuity and dependable processing matter. The recorded competition attracted six bids for the acquiring lot; selection was based on cost and quality, with cost carrying the larger stated share. The buyer noted that SMEs could be suitable, subject to meeting the procurement criteria.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Provision of Merchant Acquirer Services

Notice Description

The Agreement is for the services of a Merchant Acquirer to facilitate credit and debit card processing on behalf of the Authority within the following environments: - * Internet * Cardholder present * Cardholder not present The service to be provided will include as a minimum: * Transaction processing - online, manual and telephone * Integrated system links * Provision of rented processing terminals with Chip and Pin functionality * Online payment and settlement service accessed via the internet. ***Contract contains 2 x 1 years extension options which were enacted 31/01/2025, the contract end date has been changed to 31/05/2027.***

Lot Information

CNP and Face to Face Acquiring Services

The Agreement will be for the services of a Merchant Acquirer to facilitate credit and debit card processing on behalf of the Authority within the following environments: - * Internet * Cardholder present * Cardholder not present The service to be provided will include as a minimum: * Transaction processing - online, manual and telephone * Integrated system links * Provision of rented processing terminals with Chip and Pin functionality * Online payment and settlement service accessed via the internet.

Face to Face and CNP Card Acquiring Gateway and APM Services

A single supplier e-Commerce lot across all UK public sector bodies to provide services including as a minimum: the provision of payment gateway services, to facilitate the receipt, transfer and accounting of incoming domestic and foreign payment streams, for e-Commerce online payments, from the payer, from payment cards and from alternative payment methods (APMs), to buyers. Additional information: The term is for an initial period of thirty-six (36) months, with the option to extend for a further two (2) periods of twelve (12) months respectively.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-029d3d
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/097008-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

66 - Financial and insurance services

CPV Codes

66100000 - Banking and investment services

66110000 - Banking services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£123,000,000 £100M-£1B
Lots Value
£123,000,000 £100M-£1B
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£72,270,000 £10M-£100M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
14 Oct 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
16 Apr 2021Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Active, Cancelled
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
THE DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT
Additional Buyers

Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency

Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
SWANSEA
Postcode
Not specified
Postcode Area
Not specified
Country
Not specified
Major Region (ITL 1)
Not specified
Basic Region (ITL 2)
Not specified
Small Region (ITL 3)
Not specified
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Not specified
Electoral Ward
Not specified
Westminster Constituency
Not specified

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

JSON Markdown

The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

Loading OCDS record...