Award

Ask AI about this notice

Summarise, research or assess it with AI

View Markdown

Share this notice

Send this contract to a colleague

Payment processing & Merchant Acquiring for Sports & Exercise Leisure system

University Of Edinburgh

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

14 Aug 2026 at 01:00

OJEU - F3 - Contract Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The University of Edinburgh procured payment processing and merchant acquiring services for its Sports and Exercise Leisure system. The service enables online and point-of-sale transactions through the OpenPlay leisure management platform, which replaced the university’s end-of-life XN Leisure system. The requirement covers payment processing integrated with and supported by OpenPlay, including operation at the University of Edinburgh Sports Centre in Edinburgh. This is a specialist payment services requirement rather than a general leisure management or software implementation contract. The buyer is the University of Edinburgh, and the selected provider is Ryft Pay, an SME based in Manchester. The procurement is classified under CPV 66170000, covering payment and financial services.

The procurement is complete and has been awarded to Ryft Pay under a single lot. The contract is active and was signed on 14 August 2026 for £120,000. The University used a limited procedure without prior publication of a call for competition, relying on technical reasons for the absence of competition. One electronic bid was received, from an SME. Evaluation placed 100% of the weighting on quality and 0% on price. Ryft was selected because it was identified as the only provider with an established OpenPlay integration capable of delivering the required payment processing and merchant acquiring functionality. An additional 12-month period may be used while integration with the university’s existing Lloyds acquiring arrangement is addressed.

This opportunity shows demand for payment service providers that can combine merchant acquiring with reliable online and point-of-sale transaction processing for university leisure operations. The decisive capability was an established, supported integration with OpenPlay, giving implementation certainty and continuity for customers using the new leisure system. Suppliers seeking comparable work with this buyer would need strong technical interoperability, the ability to support both digital and physical payments, and experience integrating payment infrastructure with specialist leisure management platforms. They would also need to demonstrate that their service can operate at the scale of a university sports centre and support a business-critical system transition. A credible alternative would benefit from configurable acquiring arrangements and evidence that it can meet tight implementation requirements without disrupting service.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Payment processing & Merchant Acquiring for Sports & Exercise Leisure system

Notice Description

The University requires an alternative payment processing solution to enable online and point-of-sale payment transactions to be processed through the OpenPlay platform from the planned go-live date. Th/rough Openplay, Ryft has been identified as the payment processor and merchant acquiring provider that is currently integrated with and supported by OpenPlay.

Lot Information

Lot 1

the University requires an alternative payment processing solution to enable online and point-of-sale payment transactions to be processed through the OpenPlay platform from the planned go-live date. Through Openplay, Ryft has been identified as the payment processor and merchant acquiring provider that is currently integrated with and supported by OpenPlay.

Options: Additional 12 month period may be required as we integrate to our current Acquiring contract with Lloyds due to currently not being configurable with Openplay system.

Procurement Information

The University recently completed a competitive procurement exercise for a replacement Leisure Management System and awarded a contract to OpenPlay. The implementation of OpenPlay is a business-critical requirement and is necessary to replace the incumbent XN Leisure system, which has reached end-of-life and no longer represents a sustainable long-term solution. To support the operation of OpenPlay, an integrated payment processing and merchant acquiring solution is required. Following assessment of the technical requirements, it was established that the University's existing merchant acquiring provider, Lloyds Cardnet, does not currently have a compatible integration with OpenPlay and is therefore unable to support the required payment functionality for the planned go-live date. Ryft is the only provider currently capable of delivering the full payment processing and merchant acquiring functionality required by the University through an established integration with OpenPlay. The use of an alternative provider would not deliver the required level of technical interoperability, functionality or implementation certainty necessary to support the deployment of the new system within the required timescales. The requirement for Ryft arises directly from the technical characteristics of the OpenPlay platform and the need to ensure continuity of service for customers from the commencement of the new contract. OpenPlay must be implemented by 1 August (now 17th August) in order to mitigate the operational risks associated with the continued use of the end-of-life XN Leisure system. The absence of competition is not the result of an artificial narrowing of the procurement parameters. The requirement has arisen as a consequence of a separate competitive procurement exercise that resulted in the appointment of OpenPlay. The proposed award to Ryft is necessary to satisfy the immediate technical interoperability requirements of the solution and to ensure successful implementation within the required timeframe. The University will continue to engage with OpenPlay and Lloyds Cardnet regarding the potential development of a future integration and reserves the right to review its payment processing arrangements should a compatible alternative become available.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-r6ebe6-0000840210
Publication Source
Public Contracts Scotland
Latest Notice
https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=AUG562345
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
OJEU - F3 - Contract 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
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

66 - Financial and insurance services

CPV Codes

66170000 - Financial consultancy, financial transaction processing and clearing-house services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£120,000 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
14 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
14 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
University Of Edinburgh
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
EDINBURGH
Postcode
EH1 1HT
Postcode Area
Edinburgh
Country
Scotland
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLM Scotland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLM1 East Central Scotland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLM13 City of Edinburgh
Delivery Location
TLM75 City of Edinburgh
Local Authority
City of Edinburgh
Electoral Ward
City Centre
Westminster Constituency
Edinburgh East and Musselburgh

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Ryft Pay

Further Information

Notice Documents

  • https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=AUG562345
    Payment processing & Merchant Acquiring for Sports & Exercise Leisure system - The University requires an alternative payment processing solution to enable online and point-of-sale payment transactions to be processed through the OpenPlay platform from the planned go-live date. Th/rough Openplay, Ryft has been identified as the payment processor and merchant acquiring provider that is currently integrated with and supported by OpenPlay.

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...