Item 78/2025
Final
City of Garden Grove
INTER-DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM
To:
Lisa L. Kim From: Patricia Song
Dept:
City Manager Dept: Finance
Date: 3/11/2025
Subject: Award a contract to Point & Pay LLC for Merchant Services, RFP No. S-1342. (Cost: $450,000) (Action Item)
OBJECTIVE
For the City Council to approve a contract to Point & Pay, LLC for merchant services, including credit card and online payment processing for various City services, such as utility bill payments, building and planning permits, class registrations, police report requests, and police arrest releases.
BACKGROUND
The City currently contracts with Fidelity Information Services, LLC (FIS) as its merchant service provider. The initial agreement with FIS was established in May 2008, with amendments made in December 2015 and November 2020. FIS will continue providing services until the transition to the new vendor is successfully completed, ensuring seamless and uninterrupted operations. City staff is committed to executing a smooth transition and system integration, minimizing any potential service disruptions.
DISCUSSION
To ensure efficiency, transparency, cost -effectiveness, and compliance with the City’s procurement policy, the City issued a Request for Proposal , RFP No. S-1342 (the RFP ) for merchant services on October 16, 2024. The RFP process involved a tho rough evaluation of written proposals, online interviews, system demonstrations with the top-scoring proposers, and reference checks. The evaluation focused on key merchant service needs, including credit and debit card processing, online reporting, transaction processing, funding availability, and adherence to the City’s security requirements.
A total of eight (8) proposals were received and reviewed by a selection committee comprising the Finance Deputy Director, Senior Information Technology Analyst, and Revenue Manager (the Committee). The written proposals were evaluated based on the following criteria: 25% qualifications, 25% compliance with scope of work, 15% merchant questionnaire responses, 20% cost of services, and 15% completeness of responses.
Item 78/2025
After the initial review, the Committee invited the top five (5) scoring proposers for interviews and system demonstrations. These interview were assessed based on the demonstration of the proposed solution and responses to key questions.
The weighted scores of the top five proposals are outlined below:
Point&Pay
LLC
Diversified
Data
Processing
and
Consulting,
Inc.
Paymentus
Corporation PayIt, LLC
LexisNexis
Vitalcheck
Network,
Inc.
Initial Scores 289 290 275 274 277
Interview Scores 71 50 61 45 31
TOTAL SCORE 360 340 336 319 308
After evaluating the written proposals and conducting interviews, the Committee determined that Point & Pay, LLC offers significant advantages over the other proposers. Their competitive proposal, cost savings, and dedicated support team with decades of experience in merchant services set them apart. Additionally, Point & Pay, LLC currently provides merchant services to local agencies, including Riverside County and Santa Cruz County.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Under the proposed agreement, the service fee is based on the type and volume of transactions processed. Staff estimates annual costs to be approximately $450,000. The new proposed merchant service fee rates are either consistent with or below our current rates with FIS.
The cost of merchant service in the amount of $450,000 will be programed in the FY 2025 - 27 operating budget. The breakdown of costs by funding source is as follows:
General Fund - $189,000 (42%)
Water Enterprise Fund - $216,000 (48%)
Sewer Enterprise Fund - $45,000 (10%)
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council:
● Award a contract to Point & Pay, LLC in the amount of $450,000 per year for the initial three-year term beginning July 1, 2025. The contract includes an option for automatic annual renewal unless terminated with a 60-day notice; and Item 78/2025
● Authorize the City Manager, or designee(s), to execute the agreement, approve additional option years, and make minor amendments or modifications as necessary on behalf of the City.
ATTACHMENT(S)
Attachment 1 - Point and Pay, LLC E-Payment Services Agreement Attachment 2 – Point and Pay, LLC Proposal