RFB for Credit and Debit Card Acquiring Services

The Province of Ontario, through the Ontario Financing Authority, seeks a new credit and debit card acquiring services provider to support its extensive payment infrastructure, which processes over 13.7 million transactions annually totaling more than $1.6 billion across 22 ministries. These payments are made through a wide array of channels including in-person terminals, online portals, kiosks, telephone orders, and interactive voice response systems, with more than 770 merchant locations and 2,060 point of sale devices currently in use. Each ministry operates as an independent merchant chain with its own bank accounts, merchant IDs, and reporting structures, while the Ontario Financing Authority centrally manages contracting, configuration, policy, equipment procurement, and the relationship with the acquiring services provider. The solicitation aims to replace the current arrangement with a modern, scalable, and compliant acquiring services contract capable of accommodating future growth, technological innovation, and evolving regulatory demands. The selected provider will be responsible for supporting a phased transition from the existing vendor and collaborating closely with the Ontario Financing Authority, internal IT clusters, and individual ministries to ensure seamless integration, ongoing technical support, and strategic alignment. The contract will require robust infrastructure to maintain service continuity across hundreds of locations and dozens of public-facing websites while enabling improved reporting, security, and operational efficiency throughout the term of the agreement. The response deadline is June 4, 2026, and the solicitation is managed by the Ontario Financing Authority under the classification of financial transaction processing services.