Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
Office of Strategic Sourcing
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)
For provision of
MERCHANT CARD SERVICES
For
WAKE FOREST BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER
DEADLINE: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2015 3:00PM EST
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
Office of Strategic Sourcing
Medical Center Boulevard
Winston-Salem, NC 27157
WAKE FOREST BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Merchant Card Services
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)
For provision of
Merchant Card Services
For
WAKE FOREST BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER
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WAKE FOREST BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Merchant Card Services
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A. SCOPE OF REQUEST
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, a nonprofit North Carolina corporation, herein referred
to by the corporate trade name of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center (WFBMC), is one of the nation’s
preeminent academic medical centers. It is an integrated health care system that operates 1,004 acute
care, rehabilitation and psychiatric care beds, outpatient services, and community health and
information centers. The Medical Center has 21 subsidiary or affiliate hospitals and operates more than
120 outreach activities throughout the region, including satellite clinics, health fairs, consulting services,
and medical director services. It provides a continuum of care that includes primary care centers,
outpatient rehabilitation, and dialysis centers.
On July 1, 2010, Wake Forest Baptist became a legally integrated Medical Center. Under this structure,
WFBMC (through its Board and consolidated management team) operates all aspects of Wake Forest
Baptist Medical Center (also known as North Carolina Baptist Hospital) and Wake Forest School of
Medicine (also known as Wake Forest University Health Sciences).
The system’s main components are: a. Wake Forest School of Medicine; b. Wake Forest Baptist Health,
the integrated clinical operations that includes Lexington Medical Center, Davie Hospital, Brenner
Children's Hospital, physician practices, and other clinical facilities; and c. Wake Forest Innovation
Quarter, which includes downtown research offices and facilities.
WFBMC is a member of the Novation/UHC Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) but also negotiates
locally when appropriate.
More information about WFBMC can be found at http://www.wakehealth.edu
B. ENTITIES TO BE COVERED BY PROPOSAL
For this proposal, please direct your response toward WFBMC as a whole, including North Carolina
Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest University Health Sciences (as well as other subsidiaries and affiliates).
While the implementation and transition to all areas will occur over time, the submitted proposals must
be willing to provide equivalent service and financial programs to all entities. Respondents are expected
to thoroughly explain in their proposal any exemptions or modifications requested to this requirement.
C. OBJECTIVE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
WFBMC is requesting proposals from qualified vendors for merchant credit card processing services.
Currently, Wake Forest Baptist uses multiple credit card processors across the organization in both the
patient and retail environments. The goal is to identify a single card processor and consolidate this
service to streamline reconciliation and tracking, reduce processing fees, and gain partner to provide
insight on ever-changing payment solutions and services.
WAKE FOREST BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER
D.
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Merchant Card Services
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GENERAL INFORMATION
All respondents are expected to thoroughly review and conform to the specifications outlined in this
Request for Proposal (RFP). Failure to do so is at the respondent’s sole risk. It is the responsibility of the
respondent to ask questions, request changes or clarifications, or otherwise advise of any language,
specifications, or requirements that appear to be ambiguous, contradictory, or arbitrary. All submitted
proposals must meet or exceed the mandatory specifications listed herein.
E.
RIGHTS RESERVED BY WFBMC AND RESTRICTIONS ON RFP PROCESS
WFBMC reserves the right to reject any or all proposals or any part thereof. WFBMC, in its sole
discretion, reserves the right to waive any irregularity or minor variance in any proposal received,
including but not limited to obvious mathematical errors in extension of pricing, failure to date the
proposal, or failing to execute any certification not considered salient to price, delivery or acceptance of
an agreement award.
WFBMC will not pay for any information requested nor is it liable for costs incurred by the respondent in
responding to this request. Elaborate proposals beyond that sufficient to present a complete and
effective proposal are not necessary or desired.
Any discussion with WFBMC personnel, other than as listed as authorized contacts herein, regarding this
RFP while the RFP is in progress (from the time Respondent receives this RFP until final award is made) is
strictly prohibited. Such contact and discussion may result in disqualification of respondent’s proposal.
WFBMC is the sole owner of all data and information contained within the RFP document and
accompanying attachments. Respondent shall use this information exclusively to prepare a proposal.
Respondent should not disclose this information to any other firm or use it for any other purpose unless
required by law or legal process.
F.
QUESTIONS OR CLARIFICATIONS
Any and all questions or clarifications regarding specifications, requirements, or the RFP process, should
be directed solely to Jonathan Kepley, Strategic Sourcing via email at jkepley@wakehealth.edu. Submit
RFP questions by Tuesday, August 25, 2015 3:00PM EST . Responses to questions will be answered via
e-mail, and a copy of the response will be sent to all vendors solicited in the RFP.
G.
PROPOSAL TERMS
Each respondent is responsible for ensuring that their bid is received at or prior to the date and time
specified within this bid. Failure to meet the proposed due date and time shall be grounds for rejection.
A respondent may withdraw or modify its proposal prior to the submission deadline. Proposals
submitted prior to the submission deadline may be modified or withdrawn only by notice to WFBMC.
Respondent may change or withdraw their proposal at any time prior to the submission deadline;
WAKE FOREST BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Merchant Card Services
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however, no oral modifications will be permitted. Any modification to a proposal shall be sent via email
and clearly marked with the RFP title and “Modification of Proposal” notation.
Proposals may not be withdrawn for a period of 30 days following the closing of the RFP on Friday,
September 4, 2015 3:00PM EST.
All proposals must be valid for at least 90 days from the due date.
H.
ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Contract Terms and Conditions, beyond those specified in the Requirements section(s) of this document,
are not set forth. Respondent is invited to propose additional Terms and Conditions of a final contract.
These terms will be subject to review and modifications (as approved by both parties) once proposals
are received. Respondent will be permitted to withdraw their proposal should parties not arrive at
mutually agreeable terms.
Submitted RFP response (subject to negotiated revisions) should be expected to be referenced in a final
executed agreement. All statements, promises, and guarantees made in this RFP are considered binding
and may be incorporated into a final mutually signed agreement (should such an agreement be
reached).
I.
REVIEW OF PROPOSALS
WFBMC intends to partner with one vendor. The awarded vendor will offer WFBMC the best financial
and service package in response to the requirements contained herein. WFBMC reserves the right to
select among the proposals offered or to make no award under this document, as determined most
beneficial for WFBMC.
All proposals submitted shall become property of WFBMC and will remain confidential.
In considering the proposals submitted by each respondent, WFBMC will consider the following at a
minimum and as applicable: the ability, capacity, and skill of the respondent to perform; the character,
integrity, and credit quality of respondent; the quality of past performance by respondent; and the
competitiveness of the respondent’s financial proposal.
WFBMC reserves the right to make the final decision on its choice of proposals.
J.
PREPARATION AND RETURN OF PROPOSALS
Respondents must review this RFP and reply with a formal signed proposal. ATTACHMENT A must be
submitted with the proposal and signed by a duly authorized representative of the respondent’s
organization. Responses are due no later than Friday, September 4, 2015 3:00PM EST. Proposals must
be submitted electronically to the contact below. It is the sole responsibility of the respondent to
ensure the on-time delivery of all RFP responses.
WAKE FOREST BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Merchant Card Services
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Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
Office of Strategic Sourcing
ATTN: Jonathan Kepley, Strategic Sourcing
Email: jkepley@wakehealth.edu
Respondent must submit, at minimum, the item(s) listed below. These items must be included in your
proposal and submitted as a part of your response by Friday, September 4, 2015 3:00PM EST.
-
K.
Detailed responses to section M, along with any supporting documentation.
Detailed responses to section N, along with any supporting documentation.
Attachment A, signed by a duly authorized representative from respondent’s organization.
Attachment B, providing at least three (3) healthcare references which we may contact.
References must include the name of the company/entity, length of service, contact
person, and present address and phone number. Reference information shall be
completed by filling out Attachment B in this RFP and returned with your proposal.
FORMAT OF PROPOSAL
Greater detail, information, and supporting detail assists in the evaluation of responses. Legibility,
clarity, and coherence are important and it is mandatory that each respondent provides responses in
the same numbering format as used in this RFP, so that responses correlate to the same section in the
RFP requirements. This will make the proposal more “evaluator friendly” to the team conducting the
evaluation of the proposals.
L.
DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED
Wake Forest Baptist processes over $45 million in card payments and nearly 1 million transactions
annually, with over 75 percent of the total dollar volume attributed to patient payments that are
transacted in-person, online, and via phone/mail-in. WFBMC uses the EPIC integrated electronic
medical record system across all patient settings and utilizes Trust Commerce as the payment gateway
for that system. Additionally, there are a variety of retail point of sale platforms that span the Medical
Center including pharmacy, food services, hotel, gift shop, parking, etc. – all with different technology
and card processors. There is much work to be done to streamline and consolidate all of these credit
card processors and point of sale systems. The transaction volume and average ticket size vary by area –
with patient payments typically having higher ticket/lower volumes and retail areas having lower
ticket/higher volumes. The goal is to first move forward in selecting a single processor – this partner
should be able to create a plan for transitioning all of the processing business starting with the
EPIC/Trust Commerce business and other patient transactions and then moving to address all of the
retail areas on a case-by-case basis. In addition to processing, WFBMC is focused on PCI compliance
efforts and evaluating the need for EMV card readers, both of which will require insight and guidance
from our card processing partner.
WAKE FOREST BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Merchant Card Services
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M. PROCESSOR QUALIFICATIONS AND BACKGROUND
Respondent is to provide responses and supporting detail for each of the qualifications listed below.
The purpose of this section is to determine the ability of the processor to perform services described
herein. If you are using a third-party processor, provide answers to the following questions for both
your organization and the processor:
Safety and Soundness
1. Indicate key measures of the processor’s financial strength (e.g. capital ratios, market
capitalization, cash flow ratios, available credit lines, etc.).
2. Provide ratings for the processor from two ratings agencies, such as Standard and Poor’s and
Moody’s.
Relationship Management
3. List names, titles, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses, and provide brief biographies
of relationship management contacts and senior management.
4. Describe the relationship management team that will service the account, as well as their
functional responsibilities. Also, please specify any merchant acquiring service experience of
your organization’s staff.
Experience
5. Provide a general overview and brief history of your organization, including parent, length of
time offering card processing services, and/or subsidiary companies and the number of
employees. Indicate if you are a direct processor or an ISO and who you are affiliated with.
6. Do you use a third party for any segment of customer or card processing services? If so, explain
and provide a complete listing and history of their relationships with you.
7. Specify the number of customers for which you are providing card processing services and
categorize them by segment (e.g., industry, acceptance channel, size, and any other relevant
categories).
8. List all card brands and types of transactions currently supported.
Competitive Position and Future Commitment
9. List industry-related associations or organizations of which your company is a member, or in
which it has direct representation, including the card networks and committees.
10. What formal or informal bank/vendor relationships do you have, and how can they be leveraged
in merchant card processing? What differentiates your service from that of other providers?
WAKE FOREST BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER
N.
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Merchant Card Services
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PROCESSOR SPECIFICATIONS / REQUIREMENTS
The following sections address the various functional aspects of Merchant Card Services—please
provide a response to each specification/requirement.
I)
PROCESSING
General Processing
1. Describe the authorization method you recommend for our company. List and describe
alternatives.
2. What are the procedures to reverse an incorrect authorization?
3. Describe the dispute process and procedures for both cardholders and merchants.
4. Does your processing system identify and eliminate duplicate transactions? What are the
procedures to correct duplicates?
5. Please describe your approach to online payments. Do you have processing relationships
with gateway processors?
6. What is your approach and philosophy toward new and emerging payments? Please list any
types of emerging payments that you are working with your customers to implement. What
resources can you provide to merchants that are considering adopting new and emerging
forms of payment?
Settlement
7. Describe the settlement process and the frequency of credits and fee debits to the bank
account.
8. Do you routinely support multiple settlement accounts?
Ticket Retrieval and Chargebacks
9. Describe the ticket retrieval request process and turnaround time. How often are
chargebacks reversed?
10. Are credit chargebacks and other debit adjustments netted from daily proceeds, or are they
debited separately from the operating account?
11. Do you have the capability to store and retrieve transaction information, including
signatures for bank card transactions and non-bank card transactions? If so, do you have a
system that enables the merchant to retrieve and receive this information online?
WAKE FOREST BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Merchant Card Services
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II) TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES
System Capabilities
1. Does your platform support P2PE encryption?
2. What other encryption technologies does your company support? Please provide details and
availability.
3. If your platform supports P2PE, is it certified by the PCI Council? If no, when will it be
certified?
4. If your P2PE solution is certified by PCI Council, is it listed on the “Validated P2PE Solutions”
listing on PCI Security Standards website. If not, please provide evidence of certification.
5. Can WFBMC process a P2PE transaction with your company today via WFBMC’s EPIC
application and the TrustCommerce Gateway? If not, what is preventing you from doing so
and when will you be ready to process such transaction?
6. Can WFBMC process a P2PE transaction with your company today without going through
WFBMC’s EPIC application and the TrustCommerce Gateway? Please explain.
7. What credit card terminals does your company recommend?
8. Is WFBMC required to purchase credit card terminals from your company? If yes, explain
why.
9. If WFBMC purchases credit card terminals from your company, what are the configuration
and/or setup requirements to install and put them into production?
10. What is your process for handling test transactions?
11. If other sensitive information is collected, describe how your proposed solution addresses
the encryption of the data.
Communication Options
12. What authorization methods do you support and which do you recommend for each
processing channel (e.g., dial, mainframe dial (remote job entry), lease line, frame relay,
Internet, etc.)?
13. List any processor-specific hardware needed to support these options.
14. Describe the network monitoring system and operation.
Transmission Files
15. Describe your recommended transmission method for each processing channel (e.g., dial,
lease line, batch, real-time, Internet, etc.).
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Merchant Card Services
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16. Describe the monitoring and notification process if a transmission fails.
PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) Compliance / Security
17. Describe how your services support the requirement to support end-to-end traceability of a
transaction, regardless of the number of vendor "partners" involved. Describe the security
measures used to prevent unauthorized user access to either the system or the data.
18. Is your organization, including all subcontractors and third-party processors, in compliance
with current PCI DSS requirements? Have you been certified as compliant by a third-party
assessor?
19. Please provide the appropriate documentation of PCI DSS compliance for all involved
parties. Please provide an SAS70 Type I or II for your processing application, an opinion from
your auditor, or a comparable report (SSAE No. 16). Also include the Attestation of
Compliance from all of your partners in delivering this service to us.
20. Identify your PCI DSS support structure, including the compliance team, their backgrounds,
and professional certifications. How does your organization support your merchants’ PCI
DSS compliance efforts?
21. What percentage of your clients are PCI DSS compliant at each volume level?
22. How do you support clients who have experienced a PCI DSS violation? Provide examples.
23. What technologies or other services do you recommend your clients adopt to minimize the
compliance burden imposed by PCI DSS?
24. Outline the security measures in place for the protection of data transmitted for processing.
25. Describe the security measures used to prevent unauthorized user access to either the
system or the data. If applicable, please indicate if there has ever been a compromise to any
credit card systems or applications through a security breach. Detail the process the bank
took to notify customers, the steps taken to protect customer’s data and the safeguards put
in place to prevent it in the future.
26. Describe security measures used to protect Internet transactions.
Disaster Recovery
27. Describe your local backup and/or redundant systems, including dependencies on local
telecom and other utility infrastructure, as well as any high-profile landmarks or facilities.
28. What is the expected time frame for becoming operational should a catastrophic event
occur?
29. Describe your procedures for communicating alternative processing procedures during
processing problems and disasters to clients.
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Merchant Card Services
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Up-time Percentage
30. Provide system availability statistics for the current and prior year.
31. Over the past year, what was the longest period that you were unable to authorize
transactions? Describe the situation, including the source of the problem and the time it
took to fix said problem.
Information Reporting
32. Describe the daily and/or monthly reconciliation reports available to the merchant. Provide
samples of standard reports, including detail and summary reports.
33. Describe other reports available to the merchant. If a merchant needs reports from a
previous period, or a specific time frame, are they readily available? How long is reporting
data stored in your system?
34. Describe how multiple merchant numbers are reported and the flexibility afforded the
merchant for customizing the reports. Can the merchant “roll up” specific groups for
reporting independent of others?
35. Describe the training available to new recipients of your reports.
III) ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
Customer Service
1. Explain the process for adding new locations and closing existing locations (e.g., assignment
of merchant IDs, toll-free phone numbers, communications, turnaround time to add/delete
locations, etc.).
2. Describe your customer service organizational structure. Is the customer service function
performed in-house, or is it outsourced (and if so, where)? Is customer service available to
the merchant 24x7?
3. Will a specific customer service representative be assigned to handle this business? Describe
the responsibilities of the customer service approach and provide contacts, including the
chain of command for problem resolution.
4. What process do you use to ensure that transactions qualify for the lowest interchange
category? Do you at least provide an annual review of account activity to help your
customers identify opportunities to improve qualification rates?
Pricing
5. Provide a price schedule for the services described in the RFP, including any one-time or set
up charges, research fees and all other fees that will or could be charged (e.g., interchange
rates by location, regular and ad hoc reporting costs, etc.).
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REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Merchant Card Services
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6. Define and list separately the pricing and fees for interchange, assessments, transaction
fees, and other fees. Include pricing and criteria for determining any reserve/escrow
accounts that will or might be required, including interest paid on the funds in reserve.
7. Provide the initial contract term, notification period for termination, and any early
termination fees.
Implementation
8. Provide a sample contract.
10. Describe the merchant implementation process (i.e., steps in the process of bringing a
merchant into production) and the normal time frame for implementation.
11. Describe the merchant training process with regard to:
a. Initial new merchant training.
b. Ongoing training (e.g., courses offered, frequency, location, cost, etc.).
c. Updates and dissemination of industry-related rule or regulatory changes.
d. New product/system releases.
12. Specify the persons, by name and function, in your organization that have primary
responsibility for merchant implementation and training.
13. Do you have a documented implementation methodology? Please provide a description.
14. Can you provide experienced on-site implementation assistance?
15. Describe your recommended approach and timeline for implementation.
16. What is the average, best case, and worse case "time to implement" – from the time the
contract is signed until the system is fully operational – based on experience with your
customer base? Discuss the variables we need to be aware of.
17. How does you company maintain records of Merchants (i.e. merchant ID’s, terminal ID’s)
and provide such records/reporting to the customer?
O. ADDITIONAL VENDOR INFORMATION
Please provide any additional offerings that would be relevant to this RFP and your capabilities to
provide the services requested.
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REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Merchant Card Services
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ATTACHMENT A
RESPONDENT SIGNATURE FORM
The form below must be signed by a duly authorized officer of respondent and must
accompany your proposal. Signature below provides your guarantee that all statements made
in your proposal are accurate and being offered without obligation or other pre-condition to
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
Authorized Signature: ________________________________________ Date: _____________
Printed Name: ________________________________________________
Title: ________________________________________________________
Company Name: ______________________________________________
Mailing Address: _______________________________________________________________
Telephone: (______) ____-________ Email: ____________@______________
Licensed to do business in the State of North Carolina?  YES
 NO
Is your business listed on the Office of Inspector General's (OIG) List of Excluded Individuals /
Entities?  YES
 NO
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REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Merchant Card Services
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ATTACHMENT B
LIST OF REFERENCES
List three (3) references to which you have provided Merchant Card Services within the last
three (3) years. All of the references should be healthcare companies and highlight your
experience interfacing with EPIC or another EMR. If customer was recently acquired, explain
why you believe you were able to take the customer from your competitors.
Organization Name: __________________________________________________________
Contact Person: _______________________________________________________________
Contact Telephone: _(______)____-________ Contact Email: ___________@______________
Time period services provided:
Description of services provided:
Organization Name: __________________________________________________________
Contact Person: _______________________________________________________________
Contact Telephone: _(______)____-________ Contact Email: ___________@______________
Time period services provided:
Description of services provided:
Organization Name: __________________________________________________________
Contact Person: _______________________________________________________________
Contact Telephone: _(______)____-________ Contact Email: ___________@______________
Time period services provided:
Description of services provided:
WAKE FOREST BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
Merchant Card Services
*
END OF DOCUMENT
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