---
title: "NEPO532 Financial Innovation and Digital Payments"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0683b3"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0683b3"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0683b3.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0683b3.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "THE ASSOCIATION OF NORTH EAST COUNCILS LIMITED"
published: "2026-04-22"
---

# NEPO532 Financial Innovation and Digital Payments

Buyer: THE ASSOCIATION OF NORTH EAST COUNCILS LIMITED  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0683b3

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## Summary

The project "NEPO532 Financial Innovation and Digital Payments," initiated by The Association of North East Councils Limited, represents a forthcoming procurement opportunity. In collaboration with ESPO and YPO, the initiative is in the planning stage, focusing on services related to financial innovations and digital payments across the UK's administrative regions as well as Guernsey, Isle of Man, and Jersey. The procurement is planned utilising an open procedure with the intention to establish a framework agreement comprising seven lots covering diverse financial services. Key activities such as market engagement meetings and a questionnaire in May to June 2026 will aid NEPO in refining the framework ahead of further notices planned for release by 23 July 2026.

This tender offers substantial opportunities for SMEs and VCSEs to leverage digital transformation within financial services. Businesses specialising in digital payments, cloud financial solutions, transport payment systems, open banking, merchant acquiring services, bill payment, and financial innovation technologies like AI and green finance, will find pertinent growth prospects. Participation requires registration as a NEPO Associate Member, providing access to potential contracts spanning multiple channels and regions, enabling companies to modernise their offerings while driving efficiency and inclusivity. With frameworks planned until 2031, renewed opportunities could support sustained business development and service expansion globally.

## Notice

NEPO in collaboration with ESPO and YPO are seeking to establish a new solution in relation to the supply of Financial Innovation and Digital Payments. It is envisaged that the solution will comprise seven lots: Lot 1 - Digital & Mobile Payments Providing solutions for smartphone payments, mobile wallets, contactless transactions, QR code scanning, and peer-to-peer payment apps, enabling secure, convenient, and inclusive digital payment experiences. Lot 2 - Data, Intelligence & Cloud Financial Solutions Offering cloud-based platforms for accounting, budgeting, forecasting, and analytics, alongside market intelligence tools for spend analysis, tender alerts, and supplier risk assessment, driving efficiency and informed decision-making. Lot 3 - Transport & Technology Payments Delivering payment systems for public transport and mobility services, including automated fare collection, contactless transit payments, parking and toll solutions, and MaaS platforms to modernise transport infrastructure. Lot 4 - Open Banking & API Services Providing secure, API-driven payment initiation and account aggregation tools, enabling real-time financial data access and seamless integration with existing systems to support innovation and transparency. Lot 5 - Payment Acceptance & Merchant Acquiring Facilitating card-present and card-not-present payment processing, POS systems, online gateways, and merchant acquiring services to ensure secure, efficient revenue collection across multiple channels. Lot 6- Bill Payment Solutions Enabling secure, compliant collection of bills, rents, fees, and other receivables across online, mobile, direct debit, card, bank transfer, open banking, telephone/IVR, kiosk, and retail cash channels, integrating with core systems to provide reconciliation, real-time visibility, and auditability for reliable, accessible income collection. Lot 7 - Financial Innovation Driving adoption of emerging technologies such as AI, embedded finance, RegTech, cryptocurrency management, and green finance initiatives, fostering innovation and future-ready financial ecosystems. The above lot structure is indicative at this stage and is under ongoing development. It may be subject to change as NEPO, in collaboration with ESPO and YPO, continues to refine the scope of the solution. *NEPO is a Centralised Procurement Authority as defined in the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23), providing central purchasing activity on behalf of Contracting Authorities. *The agreement will be available to NEPO Member Authorities and all current and future Associate Members. Current Associate Members are listed in the Associate Member section of the NEPO website at: https://www.nepo.org/associate-members *NEPO intends to make the agreement available for use by all Contracting Authorities throughout all administrative regions of the UK (as defined by the Procurement Act 2023). *A list of permissible users available at: https://www.nepo.org/associate-membership/permissible-users *Organisations wishing to access the NEPO agreement will be required to register as a NEPO Associate Member in the first instance. Further information can be found at: www.nepo.org

### Planning Information

NEPO intends to hold meetings with interested suppliers via Microsoft Teams during the period from May to June 2026. A presentation will be given by NEPO and there will be an opportunity to ask questions in the session. Time slots will be provided to those whom express an interest in attending a session by contacting corporate.services@nepo.org. Attendance at the Microsoft Teams meeting is optional and does not provide suppliers with an advantage in any future related procurement.
Attendance also does not constitute as an intention to tender for any future related procurement. Please note the above information may be subject to change and is indicative only.
NEPO also intend to publish a preliminary market engagement questionnaire via Open e-Tendering system www.open-uk.org . The questionnaire responses will help NEPO design the framework by providing the level of market interest and provide insight from suppliers on the shaping of the future provision. The questionnaire will be made accessible via the Open e-Tendering system during market engagement.
Suppliers wishing to access and complete the questionnaire must first register on the e-Tendering system using the following link https://open-uk.org
For guidance on how to create an account or submit your questionnaire response through Open, please visit https://www.open-hub.org/training
To access the available Training Guides. If you need technical assistance from the Open Support team, this can be requested via open.support@nepo.org.
PLEASE NOTE: Open is accessible 24/7 however, technical support is available Monday to Thursday 08:30 - 17:00 and Friday 08:30 - 16:30.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/036407-2026 |
| Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice |
| Procurement type | Framework |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Not Specified |
| Procurement method details | Not specified |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Planning |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 22 Apr 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 23 Jul 2026 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 18 Jan 2027 - 17 Jan 2031 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Planned |
| Lots status | Planned |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | THE ASSOCIATION OF NORTH EAST COUNCILS LIMITED |
| Additional buyers | LEICESTERSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL, TRADING AS ESPO; YORKSHIRE PURCHASING ORGANISATION |
| Locality | GATESHEAD |
| Post town | Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Postcode | NE8 3DF |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLE Yorkshire and The Humber |
| ITL 2 | TLE4 West Yorkshire |
| ITL 3 | TLE45 Wakefield |
| Local authority | Wakefield |
| Electoral ward | Wrenthorpe and Outwood West |
| Westminster constituency | Wakefield and Rothwell |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 30 - Office and computing machinery, equipment and supplies except furniture and software packages
- 48 - Software package and information systems
- 66 - Financial and insurance services

### Codes

- 30160000 - Magnetic cards
- 48812000 - Financial information systems
- 66000000 - Financial and insurance services

## Release History

- 22 Apr 2026 at 08:31 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/036407-2026
- 16 Apr 2026 at 08:37 - Planning - UK1 - Pipeline Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/034491-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/036407-2026
  22nd April 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://www.nepo.org
- https://open-uk.org
- https://www.espo.org/
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.nepo.org/associate-members
- https://www.nepo.org/associate-membership/permissible-users
- https://www.open-hub.org/training
- https://www.ypo.co.uk/

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0683b3. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0683b3.json.