TfN is working in partnership with transport Operators, Local Transport Authorities and the Department of Transport on its Integrated and Smart Travel Programme to deliver a multi-operator, multi-modal account-based ticketing solution. Central to the programme’s proposition is the Account-Based Back Office for Travel (ABBOT), a shared ‘back office’ to be used by third-party Operators which will collect information on all trips (across multiple Operators and transport modes initially in the North of England with the realistic potential to grow to a UK wide scope excl. London). The scope of this procurement is to appoint a Merchant Acquirer for ABBOT for the acceptance of contactless EMV bank cards or similar form of payment for integrated ticketing. Particular focus of this procurement will be processing of UKCA Model 1 and 2 transactions, and the minimisation of declined transactions to reduce the cost of sale of this retail channel as well as commercially attractive transaction fees.

This Procurement will use a Competitive Procedure with Negotiation process. The Merchant Acquirer will provide merchant acquirer services and associated advisory services to TfN and a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) being constituted of the Commercial Operators in the North to manage and operate the scheme once developed. The scope of this procurement is:

— providing integration advice and support to TfN during the procurement of the main back-office service,

— processing UKCA Aggregated PAYG (Model 2) transactions as specifically implemented by each supported card scheme (Visa/Mastercard/Amex),

— processing Account Verification requests appropriate to each supported card scheme,

— providing the capability for customers to link their mobile device with their transit account, without knowledge of the underlying device PAN (supported DPAN),

— supporting UKCA Single PAYG (Model 1) transactions, specifically the capability to support delayed authorisation,

— monitoring and reporting financial transactions.

The Merchant Acquirer will be an integral advisor alongside TfN in procuring the Account Based Back Office for Travel contract and provide consultation to Operators on their processes and equipment to be compatible with the end-to-end service and processes. TfN has appointed Qualified Security Assessor partner, and the Merchant Acquirer Services partner will be expected to work closely with them.