Official UK procurement notice
Transit Payment Service Providers (TPSP), Closed Loop cEMV Token Providers, and Handheld Revenue Inspection Devices, for public transport services
Authority: SOUTH WEST SMART APPLICATIONS LIMITED (Public body)
What is being bought3 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionSmart Applications Management Limited (SAM) is the trading name of South West Smart Applications Limited, a Membership based central purchasing body, which owns and runs the National Mobilities Procurement Hub for its Members.
This Framework is for the procurement of Suppliers providing Transit Payment Services, Closed Loop cEMV Token Services, and Revenue Inspection Devices for public transport services. The Framework has 3 Lots:
Lot 1: Transit Payment Service Providers (TPSP)
This Framework Lot is to provide Transit Payment Service Provider (TPSP) services for integration with an existing Account Based Ticketing (ABT) ticketing solution to enable the acceptance of Contactless EMV for travel.
The Transit Payment Service provides the necessary capabilities to interface with Contactless EMV enabled validation devices to accept validation transactions (otherwise known as "Taps") including:
• The protection of sensitive cardholder data in transit and rest (specifically via encryption and tokenisation)
• Processing of Taps in accordance with the card scheme transit guidance (enabling aggregation, debt recovery and liability sharing)
• Interfaces with ABT Fares engines to facilitate the calculation of fares and charges
• Interfaces with Acquirers to perform authorisation and settlement of travel and inspection charges
Lot 2: Closed Loop cEMV Token Providers
This Framework Lot is to provide secure closed-loop cEMV Account Based Token media capabilities, enabling the issuance, management, and acceptance of physical travel media based on cEMV technology, and digital equivalents loaded into mobile wallets that can be integrated with transport authority cEMV PAYG solutions.
The closed-loop cEMV Transit Token capability provides the necessary features to manage cEMV token media issuance and lifecycle operations, including:
• Secure generation, cryptographic key injection, and personalization scripting for physical cards, and provisioning and management of digital cards provisioned to mobile wallets
• Integration with administrative web tools and back-office APIs to support batch ordering, inventory management, and postal fulfilment
• Support for physical card personalization, verification and quality assurance prior to dispatch
• Comprehensive lifecycle management capabilities supporting activation, suspension, replacement, and secure blocking of compromised or lost credentials
• Native interoperability with the ABT Back Offices to maintain mapping of physical or digital cEMV cards with ABT Token accounts to enable Tap processing, charging and balance management.
Lot 3: Handheld Revenue Inspection Devices
This framework lot provides handheld Revenue Inspection Devices (RIDs) for passenger transport services.
RIDs are vital tools used by Revenue Protection officers to enable them to determine if passengers have paid for their travel (when inspecting pre-purchased ticket products or smartcards) or have validated their PAYG travel media correctly, indicating that they intend to pay for their travel.
The Framework Lot RIDs support the following:
• Inspection of a range of travel media including multi-format 2D Barcodes, Contactless EMV and ITSO Smart Cards.
• Multiple models of Contactless EMV inspection, including Immediate, Deferred and Hybrid
• Integration with back-office services including eTVD, ITSO HOPS, ABT Back offices and Transit Payment Service Providers (TPSPs) as required for the travel media and inspection models in operation
CPV: Automatic fare collection · Financial consultancy, financial transaction processing and clearing-house services · Industry specific software development services · Scanners · Smart card readers · Ticket-issuing machines · Train-monitoring system · Transaction-processing software package · Transport tickets
How this framework works
From the published notice- Type
- Open framework · open framework scheme (admission reopens)
- Call-offs
- call-offs may be awarded directly or by further competition
- Framework period
- 8 yrs from 5 Jan 2027
- Scheme runs until
- 4 Jan 2035
Who may buy through it
Scottish Local Authorities Scottish Government & Executive Agencies Transport Scotland Scottish Regional Transport Partnerships Unitary Authorities in Wales Welsh Government & Executive Agencies Transport for Wales Welsh Transport Partnerships Wales Transport Commissions Metropolitan District Councils in England Unitary Authorities in England County Councils in England Mayoral Authorities in England Combined Authorities in England City Regions in England London Borough Councils Other Transport Bodies Transport for London Department for Transport District Borough and City Councils Councils in Northern Ireland All Transport Bodies in Northern Ireland Translink Any other Public Sector body in the UK with an interest in Transport Any UK transport operator All Rail TOCs in the UK Rail Delivery Group acting through ATOC Ltd and working in conjunction with partners Any Member of SAM at the time of use Also see Documents Section
Lots and requirements (3)Procurement structure
3 lots · all with a published value · same conditions of participation on every lot · same evaluation weights on every lotEvery one of these 3 lots carries the same published figure, £20,000,000: it is the framework's maximum for the whole notice, not each lot's own budget, and no share per lot is published. The cards below say ceiling above rather than repeat it.
Lot #1Transit Payment Service Providers (TPSP)Plannedceiling above
- Extensions
- Each Framework Lot is based around a core offering, which is defined and enables the Suppliers to be compared against each other to determine the Most Advantageous Tenderer. The Framework also allows Suppliers to provide Options for the Buyer which are related to the core Lot offerings and complement a wider offer.
Lot #2Closed Loop cEMV Token ProvidersPlannedceiling above
- Extensions
- Each Framework Lot is based around a core offering, which is defined and enables the Suppliers to be compared against each other to determine the Most Advantageous Tenderer. The Framework also allows Suppliers to provide Options for the Buyer which are related to the core Lot offerings and complement a wider offer.
Lot #3Revenue Inspection DevicesPlannedceiling above
- Extensions
- Each Framework Lot is based around a core offering, which is defined and enables the Suppliers to be compared against each other to determine the Most Advantageous Tenderer. The Framework also allows Suppliers to provide Options for the Buyer which are related to the core Lot offerings and complement a wider offer.
What it takes to wini
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 morei
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).
Published sub-criteria (3)
- Quality — 60%
- Price inclduing ongoing costs — 30%
- Social Value — 10%
Published award criteria (3)
- Quality — Each Framework Lot will be assessed based on responses to the Quality/Technical Proforma which is included within the main Tender document. The grading details of the Quality Assessment will also be included within the Tender, with total percentage value for Quality identified on a per Lot basis. When a Purchaser from the Framework undertakes a Supplier Assessment, they will have the option to apply their own weighting approach to the Framework Quality Assessment scores.
- Price inclduing ongoing costs — Each Framework Lot contains a Pricing Proforma which is included within the main Tender document. These will be used by a Purchaser to identify the unit price for individual item(s) / services they wish to procure as well as any ongoing software and maintenance costs (as applicable). The structure of the Pricing Proforma(s) is to enable a fair like-for-like comparison between Suppliers by the Purchaser, reducing the need for a Further-Competition. When a Purchaser from the Framework undertakes a Supplier Assessment, they will have the option to apply their own weighting approach to the Framework Pricing Scores.
- Social Value — Each Framework Lot will be assessed based on responses to the Social Value Proforma which is included within the main Tender document. The grading details of the Social Value Assessment will also be included within the Tender, with total percentage value for Social Value identified on a per Lot basis. When a Purchaser from the Framework undertakes a Supplier Assessment, they will have the option to apply their own weighting approach to the Social Value Scores.
- Economic & financial standingLot 1: Transit Payment Service Providers Lot 2: Closed Loop cEMV Token Provision Lot 3: Revenue Inspection Devices As detailed within the Procurement Specific Questionnaire
- Technical & professional abilityLot 1: Transit Payment Service Providers Lot 2: Closed Loop cEMV Token Provision Lot 3: Revenue Inspection Devices As detailed within the Technical Requirements document of each Lot within the ITT.
- Price carries 30 of 100 points — a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- “Transit Payment Service Providers (TPSP), Closed Loop cEMV Token…” is a framework — the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract — call-offs may be direct or by further competition.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring — the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Open framework scheme
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 7 Oct 2026, 17:09 BST
- Last source update
- 7 Oct 2026, 17:09 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end — 21 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Authority reference
Framework 9: SAM009- Latest notice
- Planned procurement notice (UK3)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-078331
How it was run
- Appointment period ends
- 30 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 5 Nov 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
- Participation fee
- success fee · 3% of the award value · Smart Applications Management (SAM) charges fees to Suppliers when a Member of SAM or SAM itself uses the Framework. Fees are detailed within the Pricing Matrix of each Tender Lot to enable Tenderers to factor in such charges when setting their Framework prices, with a maximum percentage fee of 3%.
Timeline
6 published dates · Europe/London- Planning notice publishedearlier today7 Oct 2026, 17:09 BST
- Tender notice expectedin 8 days16 Oct 2026, 00:59 BST
- Clarification questions byin 29 days5 Nov 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Admission / appointment period endsin 54 days · period end, not a bid countdown30 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected byin 75 days21 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 89 days5 Jan 2027, 00:00 GMT
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- 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- Planned procurement notice published7 Oct 2026, 17:09 BSTUK3
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications The attached file summarises the main organisations and bodies who would be eligible to use the Framework to call-off Orders. The list is not exclusive.
Notices published for this procedure
- Planned procurement notice Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender