--- title: "Online Payments" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0685c1" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0685c1" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0685c1.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0685c1.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Tender" buyer: "THE EDUCATION AUTHORITY" published: "2026-06-18" --- # Online Payments Buyer: THE EDUCATION AUTHORITY Current stage: Tender OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0685c1 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0685c1) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0685c1.json) ## Summary The Education Authority of Northern Ireland is currently in the tender stage for procuring a new Online Payment Solution (OLP) aimed at enhancing financial transaction efficiency across its schools. This procurement initiative, titled "Online Payments," is part of an open procedure under the services category, with a gross estimated value of £18,000,000. Located in Belfast, this active contract seeks to provide a secure payment solution facilitating school-related payments such as meals, trips, and equipment purchases, in an effort to reduce cash handling risks. The deadline for tender submissions is set for 14th August 2026, with the contract anticipated to commence on 8th January 2027 and run for five years, with possible extensions of up to 24 months depending on funding availability. The contractual engagement is open to various educational bodies under the Education Authority, highlighting the central government's involvement as per Northern Irish devolved regulations. This tender represents a significant opportunity for businesses operating in the IT and software development sectors, particularly those specializing in payment systems and support services for educational institutions. Companies experienced in providing secure, scalable software solutions will likely find themselves well-suited to meet the tender’s requirements. The opportunity for ongoing involvement through renewal options aligns well with businesses looking for long-term growth in the public sector. Moreover, as the tender process encourages electronic submission, businesses with an established presence in digital service implementation stand to gain competitive advantage. This contract not only supports the infrastructural enhancement of public sector education facilities but also points towards a growing demand for innovative solutions in financial technology, inviting participation from both large enterprises and SMEs with relevant expertise. ## Notice The EA invites tenders for a Provision of an Online Payment Solution. The scope of this procurement is to provide an accessible, secure Online Payment Solution (OLP) for schools, minimising the need for and risks and costs associated with cash handling in these schools. The legacy process of schools receiving monies from parents is one that involves sending cash or cheques with pupils to school. Payments cover a range of items and activities e.g. school meals, milk, school trips, clubs, and equipment purchase. The OLP system will facilite usage by parents to pay for a range of activities for the duration of the Contract. The Contract will be valid for a period of five years, with the option to extend for period / s up to 24 months, subject to funding. At the time of tender issue (June 2026) there is no formal EA wide contract to provide online payment facilities to the schools by the EA, however, some schools have independently procured and implemented their own solutions over recent years. This Contract is let by the Northern Ireland Education Authority ("EA") and is open to the EA, including the NI educational bodies listed below. At some point during the life of the Contract these bodies may wish to utilise the Contract (though they are not obligated to do so) and must have access, at any point, with the permission of EA. This Contract is not intended to replace any current agreements that participating or non-participating institutions may already have in place. These bodies include; Primary, Post Primary and Special schools under the control of the EA, Catholic Maintained Schools, Independent Schools in NI, Irish Medium Schools in NI, both Controlled and Voluntary Grammar Schools, Nursery School for NI (both controlled and Catholic Maintained) (https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/services/schools-plus) ### Lot Information Lot 1 Renewal: For period/s up to 24 months at EA's sole discretion and subject to business case approval. ### Planning Information The Education Authority Northern Ireland (EANI), in preparation for a procurement process, wish to engage with the market to seek supplier views and feedback on potential approaches for an Online Payment System. Suppliers who wish to participate in the pre market engagement exercise should complete the pre-market engagement questionnaire on eTendersNI under the CfT CA Unique ID EANI-5236. Further information including the questionnaire can be downloaded from the CfT Documents section of the project on eTendersNI. Suppliers also have the opportunity to submit queries regarding the project via the eTendersNI messaging function. The questionnaire must be completed and submitted no later than 3 pm 08th May 2026 There are no documents to be completed other than the questionnaire. Any information gathered through this market consultation exercise will inform internal business planning and any possible subsequent procurement process and will NOT be appraised in any future tender evaluation exercise. Please note that participation or nonparticipation in this preliminary market consultation exercise shall not prevent any supplier from participating in any potential procurement process, nor is it intended that any information supplied shall place any supplier at an advantage or disadvantage in any forthcoming procurement process. For the avoidance of doubt, this is the scoping phase of the project and is not part of a formal procurement process. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/057787-2026 | | Notice type | UK4 - Tender Notice | | Procurement type | Dynamic | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Open | | Procurement method details | Open procedure | | Tender suitability | SME, VCSE | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning, Tender | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 18 Jun 2026 | | Submission deadline | 14 Aug 2026 | | Future notice date | 8 May 2026 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 8 Jan 2027 - 7 Jan 2032 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £15,000,000 | | Lots value | £15,000,000 | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Active | | Lots status | Active | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | THE EDUCATION AUTHORITY | | Locality | BELFAST | | Post town | Northern Ireland | | Postcode | BT1 2NQ | | Country | Northern Ireland | | ITL 1 | TLN Northern Ireland | | ITL 2 | TLN0 Northern Ireland | | ITL 3 | TLN06 Belfast | | Local authority | Belfast | | Electoral ward | Duncairn | | Westminster constituency | Belfast North | | Delivery location | Not specified | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 48 - Software package and information systems - 50 - Repair and maintenance services - 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support ### Codes - 48000000 - Software package and information systems - 50324000 - Support services of personal computers - 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support ## Release History - 18 Jun 2026 at 17:44 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/057787-2026 - 17 Apr 2026 at 16:15 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/035395-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/057787-2026 18th June 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/035395-2026 17th April 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - http://www.eani.org.uk - https://etendersni.gov.uk/ - https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/services/schools-plus - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents ## 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-0685c1. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0685c1.json.