Banking services

Tender description

The Council collects payments for Council tax, non-domestic rates, housing rents, Sundry Debtors, mortgages and services provided by a range of methods. 2.1) The Council collects payments for Council Tax, Non-Domestic Rates, Housing Rents, Sundry Debtors, Mortgages and services provided by a range of methods. 2.2) Methods of payment are: 2.2.1) cash via the payment collection service of an external provider (PayPoint), which uses its major payment network; 2.2.2) cash, cheques and debit/credit cards via the Council’s own offices; local branches of the Council’s bankers; and payer’s own bank branch; 2.2.3) direct debit; 2.2.4) standing orders; 2.2.5) BACS payments; 2.2.6) Faster payments; 2.2.7) debit/credit cards via the internet and over the telephone; 2.2.8) mobile payments. 2.3) The Council has an external contract for transit of cash from Council locations to the bullion/cash centre. Cash (including approximately £1 million annually in coin) is collected by Security Plus + Limited from offices around the Bradford district, including schools, libraries and recreational premises. Coin is also collected from Council parking meters (approximately £2.7 million annually). This cash is transported to the Security Plus + Limited depot, where it is consolidated and banked. The Security Plus depot is a branch of the Council’s bank. A small proportion of the Council’s income is deposited at the bank’s own branches in the outlying areas of Bradford district. These deposits contain cheques, loose notes and unsorted coins. 2.4) Cheques from a number of Council establishments are sent by internal mail to a central location in the Council’s Revenues, Benefits and Payroll Service, where they are consolidated and then delivered to the bank’s nearest entries handling unit. The Council’s system for paying in cheques is designed to consolidate daily deposits; minimise costs incurred in banking by part-processing; and minimise clearance times for funds deposited. 2.5) The Council also makes use of the BACS and CHAPS systems for receipts and payments. 2.6) The Council informs the bank when a cheque has to be stopped via e-mail and the bank is required to stop and notify the Council that the cheque has been stopped on the same day. 2.7) The Council receives income from overseas in foreign currency and makes payments overseas. 2.8) The Council makes payments to its creditors by cheque and BACS. Cheques are prepared by computer and are crossed. Monthly salaries are paid by BACS. 2.9) A direct debit file is prepared by the Council and collections are carried out using BACSTEL and Bottomline PTX software. 2.10) The Council uses a purchasing card system provided by an external provider. 2.11) One Council officer currently uses a corporate credit card, but it is hoped that this card will be replaced by a purchasing card in due course. 2.12) The Council currently uploads reconciliation data from the bank into the cash receipting system and the ledger system. The data uploaded into the ledger system is automatically reconciled to data already in the ledger system.