Payment Services Provider (Psp) for Cash Transfers Projects in Nigeria

TERMS OF REFERENCE

PAYMENT SERVICES PROVIDER (PSP) FOR CASH TRANSFERS PROJECTS IN NIGERIA

Purpose: To provide payment services for cash transfer projects (CTP) in Nigeria within the framework of a Long-Term Arrangement (LTA). The contracted PSP will be responsible for delivering cash transfer benefits to eligible beneficiaries at national and sub-national level with an acceptable geographic coverage of delivery points for the project.

Specific objectives a. Deliver cash payments to approximately 50,000 project beneficiaries and/or volunteers as per the list provided by UNICEF under its programmes for specific payment cycles on minimum monthly cycle. This may be through e-payments (direct to bank/PSP account, mobile phone account) or direct cash payment modalities, singularly or in combination. b. Properly account for the transfers delivered in accordance with the UNICEF instructions, amounts and list of beneficiaries, and make the reconciliation of delivered benefit amounts to actual payments made at the end of each payment cycle. c. Provide other services within the existing LTA if requested.

Type of contract The LTA holder for the provision of payment services to beneficiaries will be awarded a service contract under the framework of the signed LTA and agreed rates. This contract will cover the payment cycle scope and its duration only subject to availability of funding; and may be extended covering one or multiple additional payment cycle(s), where TOR would be adjusted in line with the LTA and project needs.

Location Currently, this will be in 12 states in northern Nigeria under different UNICEF programmes as per the Detailed Requirements of Services. Duration Two years, with possibility of extension by another year, subject to continued requirement of service and satisfactory performance of PSP.

Reporting to: UNICEF Chief of Supply & Logistics

Introduction a. Background UNICEF is seeking payment services providers to conduct cash-based transfers to recipients enrolled in various existing and potential future cash transfer programmes. Below are the details of the different existing and future cash transfer programme for which UNICEF is seeking a PSP to provide its services; namely:

A. Educate A Child CTP; B. Humanitarian CTP; and C. Polio/C4D for VCMs CTP.

Contingent on their capacity and geographical coverage, bidders are encouraged in their proposal to respond to the service for one or several programmes outlined below for which the provider has on the ground capacity to fulfil the request. Henceforth, it is not required in the proposal to respond to and have on-the-ground capacity in the geographical regions of all three programmes outlined.

UNICEF uses a third-party payment services provider (PSP) to implement its cash transfer projects (CTP) in Nigeria to deliver cash to beneficiaries. The CTP is managed and implemented by UNICEF through a Technical Working Committee (TWC), with funding and technical assistance from partners. The Cash Transfer (CT) model requires several interrelated processes to be conducted. These include facilitation, payment, grievances redressal, case management and third-party monitoring, all of them transversally supported by communication and relevant CT monitoring tools. The CT starts with the generation of a beneficiary list by UNICEF which stipulates the benefit amount per beneficiary case, calculated using a pre-defined payment formula and flags indicating specific actions to be taken by the PSP instructed by UNICEF. A facilitation mechanism, which should be proposed by the PSP and approved by UNICEF, initiates and maintains regular dialogues with local, formal and informal authorities to facilitate a smooth execution of project activities, and through them reach beneficiaries with all relevant information about the project. Currently, the programme has a coverage in 12 States, viz; Borno, Yobe, Bauchi, Taraba, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Niger, Kebbi, Zamfara, and Sokoto under C4D/Polio; and 2 states (Kebbi and Zamfara) under the education programme; with the flexibility to reach every beneficiary at their current locations; and possibility of scaling up nationally, if needed. During the cash distribution period, beneficiaries can go to the payment sites closer to their current location for payment, or benefit from outreach support if they are elderly or have any other mobility restrictions.

In previous payment cycles, beneficiaries went through a thorough verification process to verify their identity against project’s beneficiary list which ensured that the right beneficiaries receive their cash benefit and was a requirement for collecting the cash for the first time. Once their identity had been verified, beneficiaries were given an authorisation form that, together with the identification used for verification, were to be presented at the payment site to collect their cash benefit. During the payment cycle, beneficiaries will go directly to the payment site/provider and present the identification accepted by the project as to confirm their identity prior to payment processing. During this cycle, specific information will be collected from the beneficiaries to facilitate the payments in subsequent cycles. Later, beneficiaries may be given an ID issued by the PSP, which will become how they can certify their eligibility to collect their cash benefit in future payment cycles. If throughout the process beneficiaries have any complaints, they can lodge them through a call centre or a secure and confidential complaint receiving/addressing mechanism that the PSP may propose. All cases are analysed, feedback is provided to the beneficiaries, and case management is activated as required. A third party/independent entity is responsible for monitoring compliance with project procedures and regulations. This includes investigating all cases of potential fraud.

To support coordination, a TWC functioning at national and field office levels and chaired by UNICEF will be meeting on a regular (at least monthly) basis. The TWC has the overall task to secure sufficient coordination and collaboration between the various stakeholders in the preparation phase as well as throughout the entire implementation of the CT project. At the field level, the TWC coordinates the every-day activities of all participating service providers in the respective geographic region and responds to any possible upcoming crisis situations through appropriate actions. For the duration of the payment cycle, UNICEF will contract the LTA holder for providing the payment services. The following Terms of Reference (ToR) describes the scope, tasks and responsibilities, deliverables and required qualifications of the assignment. The PSP will be contracted by UNICEF, as the Contracting Authority, and will coordinate with the other service providers as described in this ToR. UNICEF may contract more than one LTA holder for the provision of PSP services for the CTP should the need arise.

2. The Assignment a. Scope of Work The PSP will be responsible for timely delivery of cash transfers to CTP beneficiaries. Fixed and outreach (mobile) payment sites may be used throughout the payment period, covering different LGAs assigned by UNICEF. Each payment site (fixed or mobile) will be valid for a given number of days until all beneficiaries living within a radius of 10km or 2 hours walking distance are paid. The expected validity of a fixed payment site is 26 days, and for mobile sites will vary depending on the needs. For the beneficiaries with special needs who are not able to go by themselves to the fixed or mobile payment sites, the outreach-home modality will be used by the PSP. Outreach staff of the PSP will visit the homes of these beneficiaries and process the payment. For the outreach-home modality, beneficiaries will be flagged as outreach-home in CT-MIS, and CT PMU will provide the banks with the addresses up to village level and contact numbers. The PSP must execute the following general activities to pay beneficiaries using the manual modality (pay in cash): • Prepare a detailed country-wide plan for delivery payments with the objective of making access to payment sites as close as possible to beneficiaries, not requiring beneficiaries to travel more than 10 km or 2 hours’ walking distance. This plan should include establishment of or using current network of sites and outlets for delivering cash to project beneficiaries (fixed, mobile payment sites, and outreach-homes), each with a geo-location coordinates, ward name, number of working days and maximum number of beneficiaries to be paid. • Identify security challenges, risks and their mitigation measures. • Based on the payment schedule advice from UNICEF, plan a detailed payment schedule for each site and inform the beneficiaries on the date they should come to the payment site or expect to be paid at home. • Implement the crowd management protocol for payment sites as established by UNICEF, based on proposal by the PSP. • Provide the CTP beneficiaries with bank photo ID cards with sufficient security and protection features (as per PSP’s proposal aligned to UNICEF instructions). • Pay the CTP beneficiaries at least every month with the possibility of expanding to additional quarters if funds are available and upon satisfactory performance of the PSP. • Ensure that the provision of services to regular customers will not affect the quality of services provided to CTP beneficiaries (fixed payment sites). • The PSP will also participate in the national or field Technical Working Committees when invited to coordinate actions with other partner organizations. For the e-payment modality, only CTP beneficiaries having already mobile phone and a bank account with the PSP will be able to participate. The PSP must execute the following activities:

• Prepare the list of CTP beneficiaries who are eligible for e-payments • Secure the confirmation on the interest of CTP beneficiaries to be paid using e-payment modality • Transfer the benefit to these beneficiaries who accepted to be paid using e-payment modality. • Provide ex-post information to UNICEF about the transfers made.

The PSP will undertake timely and accurate reconciliation process of accounts after each payment cycle. This will include but not be limited to keeping all documents related to the payment, retaining digital backup, including the scanned copy of the IDs used as the basis for payment, and making same available to UNICEF/its representative when requested.

b. Specific Tasks for the PSP The PSP will be responsible for the following tasks: 1. Provide a table indicating the payment sites per LGA (fixed and mobile locations), detailed plan on how the PSP intends to implement payments in hard to reach and conflict areas. 2. Carry out the most appropriate payment modalities which may include but not be limited to (i) Manual cash disbursements and (ii) E-payments upon the rules established in the technical payment annex provided by UNICEF. These modalities, singularly or in combination as the local context may suit, are expected to work as follows: a. Manual Cash Delivery: The payment receiver (CTP beneficiary) approaches a designated payment site to receive the benefit in cash at a given date and time. Beneficiaries flagged as “outreach home” will be paid by the PSP’s payment team at their homes. b. E-payments – Bank accounts: The payment is transferred into the CTP beneficiary bank account. The CTP beneficiary can withdraw the cash amount at the bank or any bank agent cash-out points. This arrangement should ensure that the beneficiary can withdraw the funds at any given time at his/her own convenience within a radius of 10km. c. E-payments – Mobile phones: the beneficiary’s mobile wallet is credited with money, allowing the CTP beneficiary to withdraw the cash at the respective mobile money agents’ cash-out points at their convenience within a radius of 10 km or 2 hours of walking distance. Irrespective of the payment method, all CTP beneficiaries must receive the full benefit amount indicated by UNICEF, no charges/fees shall be deducted from the beneficiary amount. 3. Transfer transaction and other relevant information securely, timely and periodically between the PSP agents, its head office and UNICEF. 4. Provide the beneficiaries with bank’s project specific IDs with the possibility to include their biometric data and to be used as a payment/withdrawal card (as per UNICEF’s instructions) 5. Host an account for UNICEF in local currency for purposes of UNICEF transferring the funds through the PSP to pay the CTP beneficiaries. 6. Comply with the geographic coverage provided by UNICEF, considering the following: a. The Payment list will be shared with the PSP. The agency must establish and confirm the location of payment sites and share the proposal with UNICEF for approval.

b. Payment sites must be in easy-to-access places for the beneficiaries and the travel distance must be no further than ten (10) km or two (2) hours walking distance from beneficiary homes. c. Payment sites must have sufficient security and safety for personnel, assets and beneficiaries. The PSP must submit as part of its proposal detailed security/safety measures to be put in place for the payment sites. d. If the payment method is electronic, the PSP branches, network and/agents (as declared in advance of payment to UNICEF) must be in easy-to access places to interact with beneficiaries and the travel distance must be no greater than ten (10) km or two (2) hours walking distance from beneficiary homes. e. The identification of security structure and personnel for each payment site and of employees/agents as well as the accountability of their performance, including the security around the transportation of cash to the payment sites and its safeguard (where necessary), are the sole responsibility of the PSP. f. The coordination of activities at the LGA level with the other CTP service providers is required in each LGA to plan outreach home visits to pay beneficiaries and undertake these tasks as per plan. 7. Assign staff to play the role of Master Trainers and Supervisors for the field staff executing payment activities, as applicable. 8. Assign staff (employees/agents) to perform the field payment activities as required to payout beneficiaries and coordinate activities with the other service provider organizations, as needed. Each fixed payment site must have at least on female cashier or assistant. 9. The field staff (employees/agents) will be trained by Master Trainers on the activities to be executed (responsibilities, timeframes, logistical arrangements, materials to be used, etc.). The PSP will be responsible for logistic and financial arrangements of master trainings. Cascade trainings will take place in areas selected by the PSP: a. Training will be imparted using the primary CTP guidelines and materials provided by UNICEF. Complementary materials produced by the PSP and approved by UNICEF may also be used. b. The PSP must ensure through knowledge & skills assessment that each person who will take part in the exercise is properly trained and clearly understands the assignment and its conceptual underpinnings 10. In advance of the payment start dates, carry out the preparatory activities to set up the payment sites. 11. Implement the protocol for crowd management as provided by UNICEF. 12. For the e-payment modality, the PSP will provide information to UNICEF regarding beneficiaries who already have accounts with the Bank. Then, these beneficiaries will be contacted to seek their consent to be paid using the e-payment modality. 13. PSP employees/agents will pay beneficiaries the amounts indicated in the payment list. In case of any queries on beneficiaries, PSP must immediately liaise UNICEF to resolve the queries prior to making payment. PSP will be responsible for any negligent acts of its personnel which result in losses or claims. Payments made to unverified beneficiaries shall be refunded to UNICEF. 14. For beneficiaries with amount zero in the payment list, PSP employees/agents will deliver the relevant message(s)/instructions from UNICEF to the beneficiaries on what to do. PSP employees/agents should advise the beneficiary to contact their nearest UNICEF focal point in case they have other questions. 15. Carry out payment activities for disbursement cycles, usually lasting one (1) month including the transport of cash to each outreach payment site. 16. The PSP must set up payment sites with enough capacity to pay all CTP beneficiaries as communicated by UNICEF in no more than one (1) month and making them travel no more than 10km or 2-hour walking distance and when beneficiaries are flagged as outreach home, pay them at their homes. 17. Make the individual and aggregated reconciliation of payments and sending those to UNICEF in the established formats for their review and approval. The file with reconciled information must be delivered two (2) weeks after the payment process ended. The reconciliation process includes the following:

a. The PSP will use its own system to consolidate the information of all CTP beneficiaries in one electronic file. The reconciled file and a report are sent back to UNICEF for uploading in the Cash Transfer management information system (CT-MIS). b. Payment confirmation receipts must be stored at the PSP regional or central office for auditing purposes if needed. Unpaid funds must be deposited back in the UNICEF account immediately after the submission of the final reconciliation report to UNICEF. c. In the case of electronic payments, the PSP will include in the uploaded data those CTP beneficiaries whose money were deposited in their bank or mobile wallet accounts. In addition, and one month after the transfer, the PSP will send information to UNICEF on beneficiaries paid via e-payment modality, including amounts transferred, number of transactions, initial balance and final balance of the account, and account number.

Detailed Requirements of the service:

A. Educate A Child Cash Transfer Programme (EAC-CTP) Kebbi and Zamfara State

To increase school enrolment and attendance rates for boys and girls, as well as to enhance the socio-economic wellbeing of beneficiary households, UNICEF is implementing the Educate A Child Cash Transfer Programme (EAC-CTP) in Kebbi State and Zamfara State. The cash transfer programme is part of the larger EAC programme, funded by the Qatar Foundation, and scheduled to run from 2016 until 2021. The governments of Kebbi State and Zamfara State, through the Programme Implementation Unit (PIU), are implementing the cash transfer programme. Table 1 below outlines the programme parameters.

Beneficiary • Children aged between 6 and 11 years eligibility criteria • Living in a targeted community;

• Kebbi State: 9 LGAs (Argungu, Bagudo, Dandi, Danko/Wasagu, Gwandu, Distribution of Koko/Besse, Maiyama, Shanga and Suru) beneficiaries • Zamfara State: 3 LGAs (Bukkuyum, Maradun and Zurmi)

Number of care- Kebbi: 7,200 Zamfara: 21,600 giver beneficiaries to be served *On average one female caregiver has 1.92 children registered for the programme • The programme cycle for each cohort of beneficiaries will last for two years. Length of There are three cohorts in total and payments to the different cohorts will overlap programme cycle

Frequency of Termly (three cycles of payment days per year, in coherence with the school terms) payment

Size of each NGN 8,000 per child, per school term payment

Desired start date June 2019

Table 1: Programme parameters with regards to the payment process

B. Humanitarian Cash Transfer Programme

The humanitarian cash transfer programme is expected to be available for rapid roll-out at the onset of an emergency to prevent the emergency from having irreversible impacts, while simultaneously providing rapid relief from deprivations for those affected. Instrumental within this is the need to design the programme building on existing and tested mechanisms to efficiently and effectively reach vulnerable populations in emergencies. Equally important is to identify in advance the technical and operational capacity of the PSP to professionally and rapidly implement the payment components of the programme under an emergency scenario. Due to the nature of the programme, as preparedness planning, the areas of implementation cannot be determined ante-factum. The PSP is not expected to have an operational presence across all states and LGAs and is encouraged to identify the areas where it does have the capacity.

Table 2 below outlines the programme requirements for the payment process:

Operational capacity

List the states/LGA/wards, especially those marked as hard-to-reach with PSP operational presence (agents, distribution points Coverage equipped with agreed equipment) or ability to extend reach in the case of an emergency. Describe the ability to reach communities as part of the payment process through agents on the ground, including provisions for Reach hard-to-reach communities and contingencies in case of damaged infrastructure.

Capacity for Describe the capacity for mobilization per state/LGA with PSP presence referring to, but not limited to, the number of agents that can be mobilized for payment operations per LGA and the possibility for additional capacity in case of emergency. mobilization

Speed of Describe the expected mobilization time for the different stages of the payment process, i.e. opening of bank accounts, production and distribution of bank cards, smart cards, training of personnel etc. This is to be included in Service Level Agreements (SLA) and mobilization adhered to during the roll-out of the programme.

Technical capacity

Modalities of cash Describe all supported processes for cash delivery to beneficiaries i.e. direct cash delivery, debit cards, smart cards, etc.; through own means or third parties contracted to deliver parts of the process. disbursement

Restrictions for the Describe the minimum set of conditions potential beneficiaries must meet to access the payment process. use of services

Monitoring and Describe systems in place for the monitoring of payments and reconciliation reporting. Describe the ability of the system to determine inconsistencies and irregularities in reconciliation. Describe the agility and speed of the system and the expected time frame for evaluation producing reconciliation reports.

Complaint Describe the process and the supporting systems to record and handle beneficiaries’ complaints and error handling. management

Table 2. Programme requirements for the payment process

C. Polio VCM Network Stipends

in Borno, Yobe, Bauchi, Taraba, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Niger, Kebbi, Zamfara, and Sokoto

UNICEF C4D/Polio section has approximately 19,000 community volunteers (VCM) across 12 Northern States. Each of these, monthly, receive a stipend depending on their role (VCM/FOMWAN/PSG, or VWS)

Currently they are distributed by State at approximately the numbers shown in the table at right, with each settlement having one VCM: (see more details in Annex 1).

Payments are processed monthly, and timelines indicate that funds for previous month should begin to reach the individuals by approximately the 15th of the following month (for example, by March 15 begin to pay February) and process to complete all pay-outs should take not more than two weeks in total.

Considerations:

• Telephone and/or internet connectivity challenges; reliability of telephone ‘mobile money’, such as in Borno State.

• Terrain-related accessibility issues, such as in Niger State.

• In the event of population movements due to adverse conditions (flooding), recipients also move so we need to ensure their funds find them wherever they are.

• This network works also in areas that are security compromised from time to time, unpredictably (Borno, Yobe, Zamfara, Kaduna, etc.) – there must be a strategy for both peaceful times, and access-constrained times, to ensure funds are distributed timely.

6. Major Tasks to be accomplished:

I. Provision of cash access infrastructure:

• Making payments of cash transfers available to recipients by utilizing distribution points equipped with agreed equipment (such as cash dispensers, computer hard- and software and biometric technology);

• Ensuring all transportation measures are in place for the agents, to and from the payment sites including hard-to-reach communities to ensure that the agreed-upon schedule is followed;

• Allocating a sufficient amount of payment agents as requested by schedule submitted by the client and implementing parties, safeguarding a ratio of 1 payment agent to 100 beneficiaries’ ratio for all payment days;

• Implementing and guaranteeing that appropriate security measures are in place for the agents travelling to the payment sites and for the recipients during the cash pay-outs at the pay points;

II. Adherence to service standards:

• Crediting payments to accounts in a timely fashion after receipt of the schedule and ensuring payments are completed within the agreed upon time frame to ensure the recipient can travel back to their communities safely;

• Making cash pay-outs using acceptable identification procedures;

• Putting contingencies in place to ensure that payments are made within an agreed number of days, even in the event of equipment failure;

• Adhering to agreed service level standards including average distance travelled to collect payment, average waiting time to receive payment, facilities available at the payment point, response process and times for complaints;

• Ensuring that after a transaction the recipient will be issued with some form of receipt.

III. Reconciliation and accounting:

• Ensuring that periodic payments take place according to the agreed procedure;

• Ensuring a full reconciliation of all amounts credited. This will include error handling - for example, when an account has been closed or changed;

• Issuing a report on status of accounts and payments made at the end of the pay-out cycle; this will include error handling - for example, when an account has been closed or changed;

• Guaranteeing reports to client and programme managers. If a third party is involved, i.e. a licensed mobile payments infrastructure provider, or any other third party, the client is ultimately responsible for ensuring that data and reports are correctly and accurately gathered and submitted to UNICEF.

IV. Customer and official training and support:

• Overseeing process and standards for educating new recipients and funding agency officials on the procedures;

• Providing customer service to attend to queries from recipients and to handle exceptional items such as the need to replace lost or defective payment instruments; the need to reissue forgotten PINs; and disputes arising about the accounts.

V. Communication with the client and implementing parties:

• Providing excellent customer service to the client and the implementing parties by responding to queries within 24-hours on weekdays;

• All communications with the client and implementing parties should run through a specifically appointed focal point with in the PSP organization;

• Communicating challenges with the release of fund at least 48-hours before the commencement of payment activities to the client and implementing partners on-ground via e-mail;

a) End Product:

b) Cash disbursed to bona fide recipients as per amount allocated for the period, evidenced by acknowledgement of receipt; c) Monthly periodic Cash out report following each payment tranche based on contractors’ independent monitoring system to be submitted within 5 working days after completion of pay-out d) Report with identified challenges and payment related grievances made by recipients and resolution of the grievances following each payment tranche. ______

e) Qualifications or specialized knowledge/experience required:

The PSP should:

f) Be a licensed financial institution or financial services provider with branch network in the country, especially in the relevant programme focused states;

g) Have adequate resources and capacity in executing assignments of this nature, either directly or through dedicated third parties, in its corporate portfolio;

h) Have at least 2 years’ experience with clean proven track record of implementing similar services for UN agencies, INGOs, donor or international multilateral or similar organizations in the past.

i) Have a reliable organizational structure, standard operating procedures, monitoring mechanisms and reporting tools to implement such activities within its network

j) Be able to assign a dedicated senior management team to oversee and focal point for implementing this activity k) Ensure that there is a business continuity plan which in addition to covering IT infrastructure continuity will also include a provision for staff drop-outs (extra staff, trained, must be available at State’s level) and changing payment sites when these become non-accessible. ______l) Estimated period of consultancy and the deadline for submission of the end product: 2 years with possibility of extension by another year upon satisfactory performance by PSP, and continued requirement of services by UNICEF

c. Specific Tasks for the Employees/agents assigned by the PSP The contracted PSP will be solely responsible for the actions of the employees/agents that they assign to each payment site, which should include but are not restricted to: 1. Ensuring that they have the financial and material resources necessary for the payment to CTP beneficiaries, otherwise, they must notify their respective superiors to solve the problem in a timely manner. 2. Ensuring that they have the required security and safeguards to make cash payments. If this is not the case, they must immediately inform their superiors to resolve the situation. 3. Organizing the workspace to function as outreach payment agents. 4. Payment shall only be made to beneficiaries from the list provided by UNICEF. 5. Making the payments to the beneficiaries within the established protocol/standard operating procedures. Employees/agents must pay the exact amount indicated in the payment list provided by UNICEF and obtain the beneficiary’s acknowledgement of the payment receipt. The cashier should take a photo of the paid beneficiary’s ID. 6. In case of need for additional information that may be required about the particulars of the beneficiary in the list, the cashier, in line with established procedures, will bring this to the attention of the affected beneficiary with a view to collecting the specific information required to updating the particulars prior to effecting the payment. 7. Performing daily reporting upon an agreed template and final reconciliation of funds. 12

8. Safeguarding funds and materials throughout the duration of the Payment process.

3. The Deliverables and Payment Conditions The PSP must submit the following deliverables: • Inception report with detailed work plan with all required information of payment agents resource allocation, the payment plan with the GPS coordinates of payment sites and their working period, etc. to be submitted within 2 weeks after signing the contract or at least one week before the payment period process begins. • Real time upload and replication of payment data in the CT-MIS software with accurate coding as per UNICEF guidance and in line with the project State and LGA terminology. • Daily updates on the number of people paid, disaggregated by State and LGA, including the information about the outreach home payments. • Reconciliation Report, including the individual (electronic) file and aggregated report detailing the use of the funds that have been allocated to make payments to the CT beneficiaries. The reconciliation report must be submitted no later than two weeks after the disbursement phase has been completed. The Reconciliation Report should contain general and specific information on the management of the funds: (i) PSP’s general information, (ii) the number of CTP beneficiaries to be paid, (iii) the number of CT beneficiaries paid, (iv) the number of uncollected payments, (v) the total amount deposited, (vi) the total amount paid, (vii) the outstanding balance, (viii) details of the payment per beneficiary, including the information on the beneficiaries whose money were deposited into their accounts, (ix) general comments, and (x) other information that the UNICEF deems necessary. • End of payment cycle report describing activities made, challenges confronted, results and recommendations. The PSP will charge UNICEF a transaction fee, which may be a fixed amount or defined percentage of the actual benefit delivered to CTP beneficiaries as per the signed LTA. The transaction fee will be transferred to the PSP upon receipt of the invoice and the approval by UNICEF of the reconciliation documents submitted by the PSP at the end of the payment cycle. The amount unpaid to CTP beneficiaries must be returned to the UNICEF bank account upon submission of the reconciliation documents, unless otherwise instructed by UNICEF. Under the framework of the signed LTA between UNICEF and the service provider, which will be valid for 24 months, (with possibility of extension by another 12 months subject to satisfactory performance under the same terms and conditions), a contract will be awarded to cover the periodic payment cycles in whole months. The contract may be extended, subject to availability of funding and upon needs.

4. Reporting The LTA holder for PSP services will be contracted by UNICEF, as the Contracting Authority. UNICEF will be in constant communication, supervise and follow-up on the carried-out work. The PSP must submit daily updates, reconciliation and end of payment cycle narrative report.

5. General Conditions The assignment will comply with UNICEF General Terms and Conditions, and the following additional conditions: • The PSP will work under direct supervision of UNICEF. 13

• The PSP will not be based at UNICEF premises. • The PSP will not include other benefits. • The PSP has no right to stay on UNICEF property. • The PSP should be responsible for needed materials. • The PSP is not authorized to have access to UNICEF transport. • The PSP is not entitled to payment of overtime. • No work may commence unless the contract has been signed by both the Contracting Entity and the PSP.

Annex 1: Reporting Requirements Timetable DELIVERABLES TIMEFRAME 1. Inception report with detailed work plan with all required information of payment agents, resource Two (2) weeks after signing the contract or one week before payment allocation, the payment plan with the GPS coordinates of payment sites and their working period, etc. period begins 2. Real time upload and replication of payment data in the CT MIS with accurate coding as per UNICEF Real time during payment distribution (or daily if infrastructure is guidance and in line with the project State and LGA terminology deficient)

3. Daily updates on number of beneficiaries paid, disaggregated at LGA level Daily during payment distribution

4. Reconciliation Report, including the individual (electronic) file and aggregated report detailing the use of the funds that have been allocated to make payments to the CT beneficiaries. The Reconciliation Report should contain general and specific information on the management of the funds: (i) PSP’s general information, (ii) the number of CTP beneficiaries to be paid, (iii) the number of CT At the end of each payment cycle, no later than two weeks after the beneficiaries paid, (iv) the number of uncollected payments, (v) the total amount deposited, (vi) the disbursement phase has been completed total amount paid, (vii) the outstanding balance, (viii) details of the payment per beneficiary, including the information on the beneficiaries whose money were deposited into their accounts, (ix) general comments, and (x) other information that the UNICEF deems necessary. 5. End of payment cycle report describing activities made, challenges confronted, results and No later than two weeks after the disbursement phase has been recommendations. completed

Annex 2: Payment Schedule DELIVERABLE RECONCILIATION Transaction fee is paid upon receipt of the invoice and after the reconciliation is finalized and The transaction fee is only paid for those CTP beneficiaries who have received accepted by UNICEF for the payment process. payment. For beneficiaries who were not paid, the benefits amount given in advance is returned to the UNICEF account with the reconciliation report. 1. Proof of timely Cash Transfer to the bona fide beneficiary 2. Refund of any cash that has not been transferred to beneficiaries 3. Timely reconciliation report

Annex 3: C4D/POLIO Network distribution

# No. of Total LGA VCM VCM VWS VWS VWS State Name Settlements VCM HTR VCM PSG VWS with FOMWAN IDP FOMWAN IDP HTR with VCM types VCM

Bauchi 11 450 399 73 0 0 472 60 38 7 0

Borno 25 2072 1677 98 303 0 2078 41 170 8 29

Jigawa 27 1035 481 106 0 446 1033 83 57 3 0 45

Kaduna 19 1578 1378 200 0 0 1578 240 139 20 0

Kano 44 3808 3557 250 0 0 3807 423 355 19 0

Katsina 28 2279 2073 207 0 0 2280 97 227 0 0

Kebbi 9 300 202 98 0 0 300 75 20 10 0

Niger 20 950 0 100 0 849 949 0 0 10 0 86

Sokoto 23 876 676 200 0 0 876 217 70 20 0

Taraba 12 350 0 0 0 349 349 0 0 0 0 36

Yobe 17 1188 1052 97 37 0 1186 0 118 0 0

Zamfara 15 740 377 112 0 261 750 125 39 0 0 27

SUMS 250 15,626 11,872 1,541 340 1,905 15,658 1,361 1,233 97 29 194

17,019 1,553

Total Polio VCM Network Stipend recipients: 17,019+1,553 = 18,572

Annex 3: Evaluation Criteria of Proposals

MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS

A three-stage procedure will be utilised for the evaluation of proposals. Firstly, the bidder must meet all the mandatory requirements set out in the table below before points will be awarded on the technical proposal.

MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS SCORE

Lead bidder is a legal entity regulated Copy of Legal Registration Pass / Fail and licensed in Nigeria. Certificate

Lead bidder’s license is valid for a period Copy of License. Pass / Fail of at least two years from the date of submission of proposal.

Lead bidder has a well-structured Detailed description of the lead Pass / Fail

MANDATORY management structure with sound bidder’s management structure reporting lines and composition (Organogram that lists names, titles and functions of the owners/

shareholders and managers) together with an indication of the individuals that will be responsible for the management of the UNICEF Cash Transfer project.

Bidder is compliant with all Anti-Money A statement of compliance, to be Pass / Fail Laundering (AML)/Countering Financing prepared by the lead bidder with all anti-money laundering and

of Terrorism (CFT) legal and regulatory counter-terrorism laws and requirements applicable in Nigeria regulations applicable in Nigeria.

Bidder has a well-established presence in List containing the addresses and Pass / Fail Nigeria. all contact details of the lead firm and consortium member’s headquarters and all branches, both in Nigeria and worldwide.

Bidders office, branch and agent network Details of the Nigerian Office, Pass / Fail must be suitable and available for Branch and Agent Network recipient enrolment, (account opening – available if applicable), issuing of payment instrument/token, activation, the issuing of e-money or physical distribution of cash and backstopping facilities in all project States.

Last 2 Audited Financial Statements Audited Financial Statements of Pass / Fail the lead bidder (Balance Sheets, the Profit and Loss Accounts and Cash Flow Statements) for the last two years.

At least two references are provided. References from at least two (2) Pass / Fail organization that the lead bidder and other consortium members have offered such services to within the last five years.

Lead manager of the programme has Brief description (Bio) of the key Pass / Fail solid experience in the role-out or personnel that will be involved in management of at least one such system the project. Detailed CVs are / programme annexed. CV of the lead manager selected by the Bidder for this project demonstrates that the lead manager has solid experience in the role-out or management of such programmes.

TECHNICAL EVALUATION

Proposals that pass the minimum requirements will qualify for technical evaluation. The total obtainable points allocated for the technical component is 70 with 50 points as the pass mark for evaluation. Only bidders that obtain 50 points and above from the technical evaluation will be considered for the stage of commercial evaluation. The technical proposals will be evaluated against the following elements:

CATEGORY POINTS 1. EXPERIENCE ✓ Number of years in related assignments. ✓ Experience in providing similar services to international and local agencies. (10) ✓ Reference check. 2. INFRASTRUCTURE / PAYMENT MODALITIES/ SECURITY ✓ Infrastructure, staff resources and partners if any that will be used to execute the Payment process. (20) ✓ Payment mechanism (Manual or E-payment). ✓ Security offered for the execution of the process with the defined payment mechanism. 3. COVERAGE AND ACCESSIBILITY ✓ Geographic areas for Payment Agencies. (20) ✓ Location of payment points. 4. OVERALL RESPONSE ✓ Understanding of, and responsiveness to, Project requirements. (10) ✓ Understanding of scope, objectives, completeness, and timely response. 5. FINANCIAL STRENGHT ASSESSMENT (10) 6. PRICE/fee (30) TOTAL MARKS (100)

Technical Proposal Presentation Guidelines

The technical proposals must include complete and accurate information. The technical proposal must include, but is not limited to, the following items/information:

1) Corporate Profile highlighting the bidder’s qualifications and relevant experience in implementing similar assignment in the same context and complexity;

2) Last 2 years’ financial statements and audited reports;

3) Description how the Bidder will address each component of the requirements described in this RFP highlighting key steps and approach, including outlining the methodology and modality for the payment, quality assurance framework, applicable tools. Also, include payment agents’ number and locations across the country.

4) Methodology for disaster recovery process and cycle time, contingency during disaster e.g. system failure. Please describe your disaster recovery plan for short- term and long-term disaster recovery; How and when will your customers be notified if any service is affected by a disaster? What are your plans to ensure continuity of service in the event of disaster or system failure that affects a partner or third-party provider included in your proposal?

5) Provide detailed information on structure, core team member’s people, and other resources the bidder has in place/will put in place for this assignment per state/LGA/ward/payment location. Specify the states and LGAs that will be covered, this must also include list of offices, partners in case of subcontracting/consortium bidding and any other information the bidder deems necessary to support their claim of capacity to implement the assignment.

6) Expertise of the payment agency detailing general and specific experience with similar assignments in size, scope and complexities and emergency context in the past five years. Please provide a list of 3 - 5 project experiences and include the following information in your proposal:

• Name of Client

• Title of the Project

• Year and duration of the Project.

• Brief description and scope of the Project

• Proposed solution, timeliness, and results

• Reference / Contact person details

• Security management mechanism in the payment centers/risk mitigation measures and framework within the company and those proposed for this project (Please identify key risks and mitigation measures put in place for this assignment).

• Project assumptions and dependencies

7) List all current contracts with other UN Agencies including other UNICEF Projects.

Commercial Proposal

The bidder should indicate the fee to be charged for the services rendered, whether a rate or lump-sum. This should be an all-inclusive rate over and above which no other charges for the same services will be levied. Bidder may provide a detailed breakdown of the charges included. Note that payment for services shall only be made after provision of the services. UNICEF does not make any advance payments; but may consider reimbursement payment should a bidder opt to pre-finance the service provision.