Stephen F. Austin State University sought a comprehensive merchant‑services solution to replace its expiring contract with BancorpSouth/First Data. The five‑year contract (with a possible five‑year extension) requires credit‑card, debit‑card, ACH, and related payment‑processing services, integration with existing campus systems (Touchnet, Ellucian Banner, TouchNet CMM, CBORD), provision of PCI‑Level 3‑compliant hardware, detailed reporting, and 24/7 customer support. The award was given to Paymentech, LLC, which must submit an interchange‑plus pricing proposal and meet stringent security and reporting requirements.
• Scope: end‑to‑end payment processing, hardware provision, system integration, reporting, PCI‑DSS compliance, and ongoing support.
• Term: 5 years (Dec 1 2019 – Nov 30 2024) with a single optional 5‑year extension.
• Evaluation: weighted scoring (40 % financial, 30 % questionnaire, 10 % experience, 10 % value‑added, 10 % qualifications).
• Requirements: P2PE‑4.0/5.0 hardware, interchange‑plus pricing, annual PCI attestations, and ability to support multiple card types and ACH settlements.