Official UK procurement notice
Prepaid Card Services · UK public procurement notice
Authority: Islington Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe contract covers the provision of long-term prepaid card services to support various council operations including Adult Social Care, Children's Services, NRPF, and Client Finance. Prepaid cards enable fast electronic fund transfers, reduce manual payment processes, and allow real-time expenditure monitoring. The service supports cashless operations and protects vulnerable clients from financial abuse.
CPV: Financial transaction processing and clearing-house services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1The procurement covers the provision of long-term prepaid card services to support…Awarded
The procurement covers the provision of long-term prepaid card services to support multiple council operations including Adult Social Care, Children's Services, NRPF, Client Finance, and Education. The council currently manages approximately 2,000 prepaid cards across eight payment platforms. The service enables fast electronic fund transfers, reduces manual payment processes, and allows real-time expenditure monitoring. It supports a largely cashless operation and protects vulnerable clients from financial abuse.
The contract includes a fixed monthly fee based on card volume (currently in the 1,001-3,000 bracket), plus additional charges for setup, replacement cards, reporting, and platform-specific changes. The successful provider, Prepaid Financial Services (PFS), was selected via direct award under the NEPO framework due to their ability to meet all requirements, including robust reporting, joint account functionality, and continuity of service.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 7 Oct 2025, 13:48 BST
- Last source update
- 7 Oct 2025, 13:48 BST
- Authority reference
2425-0256- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-062881- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05a991Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
- The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive
- Published justification
The contract was awarded without prior publication in accordance with Regulation 32 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. This is lawful because the procurement is a direct call-off from an existing framework agreement (NEPO505 - Payment Solutions).
The framework permits direct award and includes Prepaid Financial Services (PFS) as an eligible supplier. The council selected PFS based on continuity of service, value for money, and their ability to meet all technical and operational requirements. No further competition was required under the terms of the framework.
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prepaid Financial Services | £450,000 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 062881-2025-1 · Prepaid Financial Services
- Signed
- 7 Feb 2025
- Value
- £450,000
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1bids | — | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- High Court of JusticeReview body
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Prepaid Financial ServicesAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.