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Preliminary Market Engagement - Digital Pocket Money Solution (Children's Homes)

Warwickshire County Council

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

05 Aug 2026 at 19:00

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Warwickshire County Council is exploring a digital pocket money and personal funds solution for children and young people in its care, including those living in residential children’s homes. The service would replace or improve predominantly cash-based, locally managed processes. It is expected to provide secure prepaid cards, digital wallets or app-based functionality, with controls suitable for regulated care environments and local-authority oversight. The intended scope includes payment administration, financial governance, transparent reporting, full audit trails, safeguarding oversight and reduced cash handling. The solution should be simple for children, young people, carers and council staff to use, while supporting consistent, scalable processes across multiple homes and cohorts in Warwickshire. This is a financial and software service opportunity.

This procurement is at preliminary market engagement and planning stage; it is not an invitation to tender. The Council is gathering market information on available solutions, delivery models, market maturity, implementation dependencies, risks and innovation before deciding its requirements and procurement strategy. Interested organisations are being asked to complete a market-testing questionnaire, with the engagement planned to run until 28 August 2026. The Council currently anticipates a contract from 1 February 2027 to 31 January 2030, with the possibility of renewal or extension to 31 January 2032. The procurement is above the applicable threshold and is planned as one lot. Information gathered will inform a future business case and any subsequent procurement activity.

This preparatory exercise is likely to suit suppliers of secure fintech, prepaid-card, digital-wallet or app-based payment platforms, particularly those experienced in public-sector finance and services for children or regulated care settings. Relevant providers should be able to demonstrate strong financial controls, transaction monitoring, audit trails, reporting and role-based oversight for carers and council staff. Safeguarding-aware design, accessible user journeys and reliable support for children and young people will be important. Suppliers should also be prepared to explain implementation, data and operational dependencies, integration with local-authority control environments, and how their service can be standardised across multiple residential homes and cohorts. The Council is seeking evidence of market capability, practical delivery models, risks, innovation and potential value before any future tender is shaped.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Preliminary Market Engagement - Digital Pocket Money Solution (Children's Homes)

Notice Description

Warwickshire County Council ("the Council") is undertaking Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) to explore the provision of a digital pocket money solution to support children and young people in its care, including those placed in residential children's homes. The Council currently operates a range of locally managed, predominantly cash-based processes to administer pocket money and personal funds. While these arrangements are functional, they present challenges in relation to financial control, auditability, safeguarding oversight, and administrative efficiency, as well as consistency of practice across different settings. As part of its wider finance transformation and digitalisation agenda, the Council is seeking to understand the market for secure, user-friendly solutions that can: * Improve financial governance and transparency, including full audit trails and reporting * Strengthen safeguarding arrangements, ensuring appropriate use of funds and oversight by carers and the corporate parent * Reduce manual administration and cash handling risks * Provide a simple, accessible user experience for children, young people, and staff * Enable scalable, standardised processes across multiple homes and cohorts The Council is particularly interested in solutions such as prepaid cards, digital wallets, or app-based platforms that are suitable for use in regulated care environments and can operate within a local authority control framework. This PME exercise is intended to: * Understand available solutions, delivery models, and levels of market maturity * Inform the Council's requirements, specification, and procurement strategy * Identify potential risks, implementation considerations, and dependencies * Assess supplier appetite and innovation opportunities This exercise does not represent a commitment to procure any solution at this stage. However, the information gathered will directly inform a future business case and any subsequent procurement activity, with a focus on achieving best value, compliance, and improved outcomes for children and young people.

Planning Information

This is not a procurement/tender exercise at this point. The Council invites interested parties to complete the Market Testing Questionnaire that is available via In-Tend Sell2 Warwickshire Portal https://sell2.in-tend.co.uk/midlands/home You should also submit any queries regarding this PME via the Correspondence function within the Warwickshire Portal. Information gathered from the market test will enable the Council to identify the option that best meets the Council's strategic objectives and offers best value for money. The Council reserves the right to recall any provider to explore an option in more detail if required. Please be aware that any resultant tender exercise will require the participant to register on the Central Digital Platform (CDP) and have uploaded information about their organisation. Organisations that have not previously registered on the Sell2 site will be required to do so in order to access the Warwickshire portal. If you are unable to register with the Sell2 portal please email the procurement team at procurement@warwickshire.gov.uk

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06dcf6
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/074419-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

48 - Software package and information systems

66 - Financial and insurance services

CPV Codes

48000000 - Software package and information systems

66000000 - Financial and insurance services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
5 Aug 20262 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Feb 2027 - 31 Jan 2030 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Warwickshire County Council
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
WARWICK
Postcode
CV34 4SA
Postcode Area
Coventry
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLG West Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLG1 Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLG13 Warwickshire CC
Delivery Location
TLG West Midlands (England)
Local Authority
Warwick
Electoral Ward
Warwick Saltisford
Westminster Constituency
Warwick and Leamington

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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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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