News & Events

NEPO is working in partnership with ESPO and YPO to offer its members access to a wide range of financial services solutions. All three parties have a shared ambition to provide the public sector with procurement solutions that deliver value, offer flexibility and drive innovation.

Under this new partnership, members of ESPO and YPO will be able to access NEPO505 Payment Card Services, including the following:

• Lot 1 – Prepaid Payments - Prepaid Card Accounts
• Lot 2 – Corporate Payments - Commercial Procurement Card Accounts

Michael Murray, Procurement Specialist at NEPO, said:

“We are delighted to be working with ESPO and YPO to extend the range of financial services solutions to our members and associates. Our partnership allows expertise to be shared and presents an exciting opportunity to widen the scope of financial services available to the public sector. NEPO505 Payment Card Services will offer new, flexible, and innovative ways of disbursing funds and facilitating payments. Working together, we will maintain a collaborative relationship to drive positive outcomes for our members, end users and the supply chain’

Our approach

NEPO undertook extensive market and stakeholder engagement to identify the financial services available to the public sector. It was clear that the accelerating pace of digital technology and innovation are now changing the landscape of the financial services industry.

Key stakeholder engagement allowed us to recognise the requirements of our members and associates resulting in the addition of a new Corporate Payments Solution, following increased use of procurement cards during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

NEPO505 Payment Card Services will offer an effective route to market for the provision of prepaid and corporate payments via a multi-supplier, multi-lot agreement.

Prepaid cards support public sector organisations and their diverse stakeholders needs. Prepaid card accounts have seen an increased use during COVID-19 to disburse funds over multiple service areas, including support and care workers for critical services in the community, while supporting digital and social inclusion in the payment environment.

Commercial procurement cards provide Contracting Authorities with an electronic method to purchase goods or services. The cards deliver a range of benefits such as supporting the prompt payment code through faster payments to suppliers, saving time and money through purchase order elimination and enhancing spend control and transparency.

Additional procurement solutions will also be added in 2022 as NEPO, ESPO and YPO aim to procure a Dynamic Purchasing system for Financial Innovation and Digital Payments alongside a General Banking Services solution.

Timescales

NEPO anticipate that the Invitation to Tender (ITT) for the Payment Card Services solution will be issued in February 2022. Interested suppliers should visit the NEPO Portal to find out more and express an interest.

To receive notifications of opportunities relevant to your area of business, please register on the NEPO Portal. Registration is free of charge and will ensure you will receive the latest opportunities from NEPO, North East local authorities and Nexus, with the option to receive notifications from additional public sector buyers.