POS and On-line Payment Processor Services

The Beaufort County Treasurer’s Office (“Treasurer’s Office”) is issuing a Request for Information (RFI) to identify qualified vendors capable of providing Point of Sale (POS) and online payment processing services that deliver secure, reliable, and cost-effective payment solutions for the acceptance of electronic payments, including credit cards, debit cards, ACH/e-check transactions, and digital wallets. Robust reporting, reconciliation, advanced functionality, and comprehensive compliance capabilities are essential requirements.

The Treasurer’s Office is wanting to ensure we are maximizing the use of technology to serve citizens, gain internal efficiencies and provide a high-quality customer service experience for both taxpayers and internal users.

The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to gather information. No award will be made on the results of this process. Any procurement by the Treasurer's Office will be the subject of a separate process and subject to budget approval.

Background

During the last fiscal year (7/01/24-6/30/25), the Treasurer's Office processed the following transactions:

Project Details

• Reference ID: 052626
• Department: Treasurer's Office
• Department Head: Maria Walls (County Treasurer)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-05-06T21:00:00.000Z

Evaluation Criteria

• INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS —

  4. 1.1 INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS:  Prior to commencing work/delivery hereunder, contractor/vendor, at his expense, shall furnish insurance certification showing the certificate holder as Beaufort County, P. O. Drawer 1228, Beaufort, SC 29901, Attention:  Risk Management Director, and with a special notation naming Beaufort County as an additional insured on the liability coverages.   Minimum coverage shall be as follows:

  4.1.2 Worker’s Compensation Insurance – Contractor shall have and maintain, during the life of this contract, Worker’s Compensation Insurance for his or her employees connected to the work/delivery, in accordance with the Statutes of the State of South Carolina and any applicable laws.  Employers Liability minimum limits required $500,000

  4.1.3 Commercial General Liability Insurance - Contractor shall have and maintain, during the life of this contract, Commercial General Liability Insurance.  Said Commercial General Liability Policy shall contain Contractual Liability and Products/Completed Operations Liability subject to the following minimum limits: $1,000,000 Each Occurrence/ $2,000,000 General Aggregate and $2,000,000 Products/Completed Operations Aggregate naming Beaufort County as an additional insured.

  4.1.4 Comprehensive Automobile Liability Insurance – The Contractor shall have and maintain, during the life of this contract, Comprehensive Automobile Liability, including non-owned and hired vehicles, of at least $500,000 COMBINED SINGLE LIMIT. 

   

  4.2.1 ADDITIONAL INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS:  Umbrella Liability Insurance – Contractor shall have and maintain, during the life of this contract, Umbrella Liability Insurance with a minimum limit of $2,000,000

   

  4.2.2    Builders Risk/Instillation (For Construction Projects Only) Contractor is to provide Builders Risk/Instillation coverage at finished replacement cost value. The coverage is to include building materials in transit or at the job site location.

   

  4.2.3   Professional Liability (Errors & Omissions): (For Professional Services Only) Professional Liability Insurance protects against losses that occur when a “professional” errors in judgement, planning, and design could result in economic loss to the entity or county. In order to determine if Professional Liability should be required ask yourself: Is the professional licensed or certified (i.e. architects, consultants, auditors, attorneys, engineers, etc.)? Required if a contractor is performing any type of design/build for a particular project. The vendor shall maintain a limit no less than $1,000,000 per occurrence:

   

  4.3 The required insurance policy at the time of issue must be written by a company licensed to do business in the State of South Carolina and be acceptable to the County.

  4.4 The Contractor/vendor shall not cause any insurance to be canceled or permit any insurance to lapse.  All insurance policies shall contain a clause to the effect that the policy shall not be canceled or reduced, restricted or limited, until fifteen (15) days after the County has received written notice, as evidenced by return receipt of registered or certified letter.  Certificates of Insurance shall contain transcript from the proper office of the insurer, the location, and the operations to which the insurance applies, the expiration date, and the above-mentioned notice of cancellation clause. 

  4.5 The information described above sets forth minimum amounts and coverages and is not to be construed in any way as a limitation on the Contractor’s liability.

• Questionnaire —

   

  1. Company Overview & Experience

  • Provide a brief history of your company and experience in the payment processing industry.
  • What is your experience working with businesses of similar size and industry?
  • Provide three client references. 

  2. Services and Functionality

  • What card brands do you support (Visa, MasterCard, Amex, Discover)?
  • Do you support in-person (EMV/contactless) and card-not-present (online/phone) payments?
  • Do you offer mobile payment options or digital wallets (e.g., Apple Pay)?
  • Can you provide end of day settlement for all card types? 

  3. Technology and Integration

  • Describe your API and payment gateway, specifically how they would integrate and interact with our existing systems (Aumentum v.8.6.10 and Harris Collectware), including compatibility with our API.
  • What POS hardware do you offer? Do you support hardware-free solutions (e.g., tap-to-pay on phone)?
  • Describe your process for managing quality control for transaction processing. 
  • Can you provide a detailed, independent audit report demonstrating your adherence to these standards, and specifically address how your system handles the unique risks associated with governmental funds and public accountability?
  • Describe your incident response plan. Specifically, what steps do you take if a data breach is suspected or confirmed?
  • Describe your data encryption practices, both in transit and at rest. Specifically, what algorithms are used, and what key management practices are in place to ensure the security and availability of those keys. 

  4. Security and Compliance

  • Are you PCI-DSS Level 1 Compliant? Please provide your Attestation of Compliance (AOC).
  • What tools do you provide for fraud detection and risk management?
  • How do you ensure secure data handling and tokenization? 

  5. Fees and Pricing Structure

  • What is your pricing structure (e.g., Interchange-plus, flat rate)?
  • Are there enrollment fees, monthly maintenance fees, or cancellation fees?
  • List any costs associated with hardware or terminal rentals/purchases. 

  6. Support and Implementation

  • What are your daily hours of operation for support? Is it 24/7?
  • Is your support team located in the U.S.?
  • Describe your implementation process, typical timeline, and support for the transition. 

  7. Reporting and Analytics

  • Describe your online reporting portal. Are custom reports available?
  • How does your system handle reconciliation, chargebacks, and disputes? 

Submission Requirements

• Respondent confirms the submission is firm for a period of at least 90 days from the closing date for submission of response. (required)
• Certification regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility, and Voluntary exclusion (required) —

  The contractor certifies, by submission of this qualification statement or acceptance of a contract, that neither it nor its principals is presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from participation in this transaction by any State, Federal department, or agency.

  It further agrees by submitting this qualification statement that it will include this clause without modification in all lower tier transactions, solicitations, proposals, contracts, and subcontracts. Where the bidder/contractor or any lower tier participant is unable to certify to this statement, it shall attach an explanation to this solicitation/bid.

• State whether your company has been involved in any litigation within the past five (5) years, arising out of your performance. (required)
• Explain fully any litigation involving performance. (required)
• Non-Segregated Facilities (required) —

  CERTIFICATION BY CONTRACTOR

  Regarding

  NON-SEGREGATED FACILITIES

  The Bidder certifies that he does not, and will not, provide and maintain segregated facilities for his employees at his establishments and, further that he does not, and will not, permit his employees to perform their services at those locations, under his control, where segregated facilities are provided and maintained. Segregated fountains, transportation, parking, entertainment, recreation, ad housing facilities; waiting, rest, wash, dressing, and locker room, and time clock, work, storage, restaurant, and other eating areas which are set apart in fact, or by explicit directive, habit, local custom, or otherwise, based on color, creed, national origin, and race. The Bidder agrees that, except where he has obtained identical certifications from proposed subcontractors for specific time periods, he will obtain identical certifications from proposed subcontractors prior to the award of subcontractors exceeding $10,000.00 which are not exempt from the provisions of the Equal Opportunity clause, and that he will retain such certifications in his files.

  The Bidder agrees that a breach of this certification is a violation of the Equal Opportunity clause in this Contract. The penalty for making false statements is prescribed in 18 U.S.C. 1001.

• Submission (required) —

  To achieve a uniform review process and allow for adequate comparability, the information is to be organized in the manner specified below and the entire package must not exceed 30 electronic pages excluding cover pages. Please include a cover page at the start of each section.

  1. Company Overview & Experience
  2. Services and Functionality
  3. Technology and Integration
  4. Security and Compliance
  5. Fees and Pricing Structure
  6. Support and Implementation
  7. Reporting and Analysis
  8. List any exceptions, qualifications, or exclusions to this RFI:
• Pricing (required) —

  Please provide your complete pricing proposal.

• Pricing (required)