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Electronic Payment Solution for Fees and Online Shop

University of the West of Scotland

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

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03 Aug 2026 at 16:21

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The University of the West of Scotland procured an electronic payment platform for collecting student fee payments and processing payments through its online shop. The service is intended to retain the university’s existing electronic payments system while its wider core systems are upgraded, supporting customer-facing payment and online retail activity. This is a specialist payment service, including international payment transfer services (CPV 66115000), rather than general banking or retail software. Delivery locations are associated with the university’s activity in Paisley, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, the Scottish Borders and London. The buyer is the University of the West of Scotland, a public education body based in Paisley. The requirement covers a single service package, combining fee-payment capability with online-shop payment functionality.

The procurement has been completed and awarded to Flywire Payments Ltd. It used a limited procedure without prior publication of a call for competition, on the stated basis that the requirement fell outside the relevant directive and that technical constraints meant only one supplier was considered able to meet the university’s needs. The contract value is £210,000, and the contract was signed on 27 July 2026. The award is active. The arrangement is described as a three-year agreement with a no-penalty break clause at one year; the immediate requirement was a one-year renewal of the existing system. The university cited disruption, additional cost and delivery-timeline risks as reasons for retaining the incumbent service while core systems are upgraded. Evaluation was therefore shaped by technical compatibility and continuity rather than an open price-led competition.

This procurement indicates demand from higher-education organisations for an established electronic payment service that can handle student fee payments and online-shop transactions within an existing institutional technology environment. Suppliers competing for similar future requirements would need a dependable payment platform, experience integrating with complex university or public-sector systems, and the operational capacity to maintain customer-facing payment services during major technology upgrades. Capability to support international payment transfers is relevant to the stated service classification. Credibility would also depend on demonstrating continuity, low disruption and controlled implementation, since the buyer prioritised avoiding service interruption, additional costs and project delays. Providers should be able to show how their platform can preserve existing payment operations while wider core systems are changed.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Electronic Payment Solution for Fees and Online Shop

Notice Description

Provision of an electronic payment platform for fee payment and online shop payments

Lot Information

Lot 1

Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition Justification for selected award procedure: The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the Directive Explanation: Due to technical limitations associated with the design and development of the platform in the UWS environment, it is UWS' belief that at the current time that only one supplier can meet the requirements. Given that UWS is upgrading a number of core systems at this time, it is determined that the critical nature of the customer-facing fee payment and online retail solutions should be retained as the other vital upgrades progress, any change in the service provision and is highly likely to (i) cause a significant amount of disruption; (ii) incur significant additional cost for UWS, and (iii) negatively stretch timelines for project delivery. As such, UWS is publishing this voluntary ex-ante notice on Public Contracts Scotland to ensure compliance with procurement regulations and the continuance of its electronic payments service for the next 12 months. This contract is for the 1-year renewal of UWS' electronic payments system, used for payment of student fees and supporting online shop payments. This will retain the existing system and although UWS is only looking for 1-year, the agreement is for 3-years with a 'no-penalty' break clause at 1-year, which is determined to offer UWS best value for money as to award a 1-year agreement only would cost a significantly higher amount.

Procurement Information

Due to technical limitations associated with the design and development of the platform in the UWS environment, it is UWS' belief that at the current time that only one supplier can meet the requirements. Given that UWS is upgrading a number of core systems at this time, it is determined that the critical nature of the customer-facing fee payment and online retail solutions should be retained as the other vital upgrades progress, any change in the service provision and is highly likely to (i) cause a significant amount of disruption; (ii) incur significant additional cost for UWS, and (iii) negatively stretch timelines for project delivery. As such, UWS is publishing this voluntary ex-ante notice on Public Contracts Scotland to ensure compliance with procurement regulations and the continuance of its electronic payments service for the next 12 months. This contract is for the 1-year renewal of UWS' electronic payments system, used for payment of student fees and supporting online shop payments. This will retain the existing system and although UWS is only looking for 1-year, the agreement is for 3-years with a 'no-penalty' break clause at 1-year, which is determined to offer UWS best value for money as to award a 1-year agreement only would cost a significantly higher amount.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06da51
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/073353-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

66 - Financial and insurance services

CPV Codes

66115000 - International payment transfer services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£210,000 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
3 Aug 20262 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
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
Not Specified
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
University of the West of Scotland
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
PAISLEY
Postcode
PA1 2BE
Postcode Area
Paisley
Country
Scotland
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLM Scotland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLM3 West Central Scotland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLM33 Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire, and Renfrewshire
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Renfrewshire
Electoral Ward
Paisley Northwest
Westminster Constituency
Paisley and Renfrewshire South

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

FLYWIRE PAYMENTS LIMITED

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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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.

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