Find a TenderOpen for tender Tender notice
Published 25 Sept 2026, 10:10 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Payment Card Production — UK public procurement notice

Authority: Northern Ireland Housing Executive (Central government)

GoodsBelow threshold - open competitionBelow thresholdSME suitable
Published estimate£85,000≈ £85k / year · £102,000 inc. VAT
Submission deadline 9 Oct 202615:00 BST · 14d 3h left
Clarification cut-off 7 Oct 202615:00 BST · questions to the authority
Contract term 1 yrup to 3 yrs with extensions · starts 1 Nov 2026
Bids per lot · this authority 5all categories · n=178 · competition analysis ↓

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The Housing Executive currently collects customer payments through a range of channels including payment outlets, online services, telephone, standing order and Direct Debit. Swipe card payments continue to be used by the majority of customers when making payments at payment outlets.

Swipe card payments are made using cards issued to customers. The cards contain a unique payment reference number, encoded on a magnetic stripe and printed on the card, which enables payments made at payment outlets to be automatically allocated to customer accounts.

The Housing Executive requires a Contractor to produce and issue payment cards for Rent Accounts and Sub-Accounts and Leaseholder Charges and Sub-Accounts in accordance with the Specification and Appendix A. The Contractor will be required to receive bulk and ad hoc card requests, personalise the payment cards and dispatch directly to the customer.

CPV: Charge cards

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Lot 1Renewal 1 yrSMEPublished value£85,000
Contract period: 1 Nov 2026 — 31 Oct 2027 (1 yr) · up to 3 yrs with extensionsEligibility: SME eligibleDelivery: Northern IrelandTurnover guideline: ~£170,000/yr≈ 2× annual value
Value
£85,000 exc. VAT · £102,000 inc. VAT
Extensions
The Housing Executive has the ability, entirely at our discretion, to invite the Contractor to agree to extend the Contract for any period(s) of up to and including 24 months (potential 36 month contract).
30163000 Charge cards

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

What it takes to win
i

How this buyer will score bids.

The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).

Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published — the tender pack may add more
How bids are scored

Stage 2 - Award Criteria - Quality - 20% (1 quality question has been asked). Stage 3 - Award Criteria - Cost - 80%

Conditions of participation1
  • Condition of participation
    Please see the Tender Documentation for details.

Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid

How Northern Ireland Housing Executive buys Magnetic cards (CPV 3016) — and who usually turns up

Northern Ireland Housing Executive’s own published record, next to the Northern Ireland market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Magnetic cards (CPV 3016) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Left: this authority. Right: the market where the work is delivered. Bids and award-vs-estimate pairs are per lot, from contested contracts only — direct awards (including PA 2023 transparency notices) report one bid by definition and are left out. On Procurement Act 2023 notices the count is the tenders assessed at the final stage, not every submission received; pairs compare like with like (VAT-exclusive, or VAT-inclusive on both sides). Empty means nothing was published, not filled in from elsewhere.

This authority

Northern Ireland Housing Executive

contract notices in 36 months: 1 in division 30 · 117 in all categories (2 without competition · 5 route not published)

Bids per lot
i

How many companies usually bid for work like this.

Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 178 lots. 49 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 4) and 129 from older notices (bids received, middle 5).

Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.

5all categories · 36m · n=178 lots
Single-bid lots
i

How often only one company bid.

Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 178 lots.

High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.

9%all categories · 36m · n=178 lots
Award vs estimate
i

Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.

Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 114 pairs.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

at estimateall categories · 36m · n=114 pairs
Deadline → award date
i

How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.

Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 29 notices.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

50dall categories · 36m · n=29 notices
Notice updates
i

How often this buyer changes a notice after publishing it.

Middle number of amendments per notice. Deadline extensions and corrections both count.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 24 months: 101 notices.

Last 24 months.

3all categories · 24m · n=101 notices
Awarded without competition
i

How often this buyer awards without a competition.

Direct or limited awards as a share of its notices that say which procedure was used. These routes are legal in defined cases. This is just the record.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 112 notices.

Last 36 months.

2%all categories · 36m · n=112 notices
Bids per lot robust · n=178
i

How the number of bidders is spread across lots.

Each lot with a published bid count is put in a band: one bid, two to three, four to six, seven or more. Real competitions only.

Based on 178 lots on 74 contested notices · all categories, last 36 months.

  • 1 bid 9%
  • 2–3 19%
  • 4–6 40%
  • 7+ 33%

Median 5 · 178 lots on 74 contested notices · all categories.

Winning award vs estimate robust · n=114
i

How often winners come in below, near or above the estimate.

Each lot with both an estimate and an award is placed by how far the award sat from the estimate.

Based on 114 lot pairs · all categories, last 36 months.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

  • Below estimate 30%
  • Within ±2% 25%
  • Above estimate 46%

114 lot pairs · all categories.

The market · delivery region

Northern Ireland · Magnetic cards (CPV 3016)

contract notices delivered in Northern Ireland in 36 months: 31 in division 30 (15 competed, 4 route not published)

Bids per lot
i

How many companies usually bid for work like this.

Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 30), last 36 months: 7 lots. 2 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 3) and 5 from older notices (bids received, middle 1).

Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.

1division 30 · 36m · n=7 lots
Single-bid lots
i

How often only one company bid.

Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 30), last 36 months: 7 lots.

High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.

57%division 30 · 36m · n=7 lots
Award vs estimate
i

Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.

Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 30), last 36 months: 4 pairs.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

1% belowdivision 30 · 36m · n=4 pairs
Deadline → award date
i

How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.

Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 30), last 36 months: 2 notices. Small sample.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

46ddivision 30 · 36m · n=2 notices
SME bidders
i

How much of this market goes to small and medium firms.

SME bidders where buyers published the split, otherwise SME winners.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 30), last 36 months: 7 lots.

Last 36 months.

50%division 30 · 36m · n=7 lots
Winners based in the region
i

How much work like this goes to companies based in the delivery region.

Awards in this category delivered here where the winner’s registered address is in the region.

Based on this region’s tenders in this industry (CPV 30), last 36 months: 13 awards.

Registered address, so a national firm with a local branch counts as outside.

Last 36 months.

54%division 30 · 36m · n=13 awards
Bids per lot robust · n=7
i

How the number of bidders is spread across lots.

Each lot with a published bid count is put in a band: one bid, two to three, four to six, seven or more. Real competitions only.

Based on 7 lots on 7 contested notices · division 30, last 36 months.

  • 1 bid 57%
  • 2–3 14%
  • 4–6 14%
  • 7+ 14%

Median 1 · 7 lots on 7 contested notices · division 30.

Winning award vs estimate moderate · n=4
i

How often winners come in below, near or above the estimate.

Each lot with both an estimate and an award is placed by how far the award sat from the estimate.

Based on 4 lot pairs · division 30, last 36 months.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

  • Below estimate 50%
  • Within ±2% 50%
  • Above estimate 0%

4 lot pairs · division 30.

robust · n=114
i

Where this tender’s estimate would land if the usual pattern repeats.

We apply the buyer’s usual movement between estimate and award (or the region’s) to the estimate on this notice.

Based on this buyer’s own usual movement over 114 lots (all categories), applied to the £85,000 estimate on this notice.

A benchmark, not a price to bid.

Awards in Northern Ireland Housing Executive (all categories, n=114 pairs) land a median at estimate: on this notice’s £85,000 that is about £85,000. Context for a bid, not a recommended price.
Coverage and what to read with care
  • Each tile explains itself. The on a figure says what it is, how it is counted and which scope this notice’s own record came from (class, division, all categories, or the authority’s 24-month row). The two columns are never blended and nothing is filled from a UK-wide figure; an empty tile means the source published nothing usable. Long form: Methodology.
  • Coverage. Roughly 40 % of notices publish a bid count; about half publish an ITL1 delivery location, so the market column reads the authority’s registered region when the notice has none (labelled). About 30 % of award-vs-estimate pairs are exact matches — the buyer published the award at the estimate. n is on every figure; a thin sample is muted, never hidden.
  • “Match” and “relevance” are model scores from the nightly matcher, not published facts. Find a Tender does not publish who is bidding. Never shown: contact details, payment behaviour, or a recommended price.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Below threshold - open competition
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Goods
Notice status
Open for tender
Procurement threshold
Below threshold
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
No (one-off requirement)
First published
25 Sept 2026, 10:10 BST
Last source update
25 Sept 2026, 10:10 BST
Authority reference
P0651
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Charge cards
Delivery area
Northern Ireland (UKN)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-077a2e Find a Tender

How to participate & submission route

Official notice Submit via eTendersNI
Submission portal named on this notice: eTendersNI · Who buys & how to bid on eTendersNI
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowed
Access & registration note: Free Northern Ireland registration
Expression of interest (EOI)
—
Tender submission deadline
9 Oct 2026, 15:00 BST
Clarification deadline
7 Oct 2026, 15:00 BST
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
Tenders may only be submitted via the etendersni.gov.uk ↗ portal.
Published estimate £85,000 excludes VAT (£102,000 including VAT).

Timeline

4 published dates · Europe/London
  1. Tender notice publishedjust passed
    25 Sept 2026, 10:10 BST
  2. Clarification questions byin 12 days
    7 Oct 2026, 15:00 BST
  3. Submission deadlinein 14 days
    9 Oct 2026, 15:00 BST
  4. Contract startsin 37 days
    1 Nov 2026, 00:00 GMT

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Nothing awarded yet
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Tender notice published
    25 Sept 2026, 10:10 BSTUK4

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Northern Ireland Housing Executive

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central governmentNorthern Irish devolved regulations apply GB-PPON: PTYV-8666-PQQY Housing Centre, 2 Adelaide Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT2 8PB [email protected]

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender