Lockbox Remittance Services

Request for Proposals # 274-FIN2026-01
Title: Lockbox Remittance Services
Issue Date: May 14, 2026
Due Date: June 18, 2026 no later than 3:00PM EST
*LATE PROPOSALS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED*
Issuing Department: Finance
Direct all inquiries concerning this RFP to:
David Fitzgerald
Manager-Revenue Services
Email: david.fitzgerald@raleighnc.gov
(v.09/15/25)

Table of Contents
1. Introduction .............................................................................................. 2
1.1 Purpose ............................................................................................. 2
1.2 Background ........................................................................................ 2
1.3 RFP Timeline ..................................................................................... 3
1.4 Pre-Proposal Conference .................................................................. 3
1.5 Proposal Question ............................................................................. 4
1.6 Proposal Submission Requirements & Contact Information .............. 4
1.7 Business Engagement & Opportunities ............................................. 5
1.8 Rights to Submitted Material .............................................................. 5
1.9 Communications ................................................................................ 5
1.10 Lobbying ............................................................................................ 6
1.11 Conflicts of Interest ............................................................................ 6
1.12 Proposer Expenses ........................................................................... 7
1.13 Proposer Acceptance ........................................................................ 7
2. Proposals ................................................................................................. 8
2.1 Request for Proposals Required Document Format .......................... 8
2.2 RFP Documents .............................................................................. 13
3. Proposal Evaluation .............................................................................. 13
3.1 Proposal Evaluation Criteria (Stage 1) ............................................. 13
3.2 Interview/Demonstration (Stage 2) .................................................. 14
3.3 Final Selection ................................................................................. 14
3.4 Notice to Proposers Regarding RFP Terms & Conditions ............... 14
3.5 Contract Term......................................................................15
4. Scope of Services .................................................................................. 15
Appendix I - Proposal Cost Form ................................................................... 17
Appendix II - Proposer Questionnaire ........................................................... 18
Appendix III - Reference Questionnaire (Instructions) ................................. 19
Appendix III - Reference Questionnaire Form ............................................... 20
Appendix IV - Sample Contract ...................................................................... 22
Appendix V - Output File Layout .................................................................... 31

1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Purpose
The City of Raleigh (COR) is solicitating proposals from one or more firm(s) with which to
contract for the following services:
The City of Raleigh is seeking a qualified company to deliver Lockbox Remittance
Services for Water, Sewer and Solid Waste services including, but not limited to, payment
processing and depositing capabilities, all personnel, equipment, work and storage space
and transportation for pick-up and delivery of payments associated with the services.
A detailed scope of services is provided in Section 4 of this document.
All information related to this solicitation, including any addenda, will be posted to the
North Carolina electronic Vendor Portal (eVP) at https://evp.nc.gov/.
All questions and any correspondence regarding this RFP shall be directed to the City's
Point of Contact by email. * NO PHONE CALLS*
Contact Name Email Address
David Fitzgerald david.fitzgerald@raleighnc.gov
1.2 Background
The City of Raleigh, the Capital City of North Carolina, remains one of the fastest growing
areas in the country. A great economy, top educational institutions, and exceptional health
care facilities are some of the characteristics that attract people to the triangle area. The
mild climate, diverse work force and proximity to Research Triangle Park combine to make
Raleigh a great place to live.
Raleigh is a 21st Century City of Innovation focusing on environmental, cultural, and
economic sustainability. The City conserves and protects our environmental resources
through best practice and cutting-edge conservation and stewardship, land use,
infrastructure and building technologies. The City welcomes growth and diversity through
policies and programs that will protect and enhance Raleigh's existing neighborhoods,
natural amenities, history, and cultural and human resources for future generations. The
City leads to improve quality of life for neighborhoods and standard of living for all citizens.
The City works with universities, colleges, citizens, and local partners to promote new
technology, create new job opportunities, and encourage local businesses and
entrepreneurs. The City enlists and prepares 21st Century staff with the skill sets to carry
out the duties of the City through transparent civic engagement and by providing the very
best customer service to our citizens.
The City of Raleigh serves approximately 220,000 water, sewer and solid waste
customers. Because these services generate a high volume of recurring customer
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payments, the City is seeking a qualified Lockbox Remittance Services provider to ensure
efficient, secure, and cost-effective processing of mail-in utility payments.
Current environment includes:
1. Average daily volumes:
a. Remittance stubs: 742
b. Checks: 553.
2. Raleigh receives the physical correspondence items from the lockbox, while
checks and remittance documents are imaged. This information is provided
online by our processor.
3. Current Remittance Address:
City of Raleigh
PO Box 71081
Charlotte, NC 28272-1081
1.3 Request for Proposal (RFP) Timeline
Provided below is a list of the anticipated schedule of events related to this solicitation.
The City of Raleigh reserves the right to modify and/or adjust the following schedule to
meet the needs of the service. All times shown are Eastern Time (EST):
RFP Process Date and Time
RFP Date May 14, 2026
Pre-Proposal Meeting/Site-Visit
N/A (none)
(if required)
Deadline for Written Questions May 27, 2026
City Response to Questions
June 5, 2026
(anticipated)
Proposal Due Date and Time June 18, 2026, 3:00 pm EST
Selection Announced
August 18, 2026
(tentative)
1.4 Pre-Proposal Conference
If the City of Raleigh elects to conduct a Pre-Proposal Conference or Site Visit, attendance
by prospective proposers is strongly encouraged but is not mandatory. Prospective
Proposers are encouraged to submit written questions in advance. Date, time, and
location of pre-proposal conference is shown above in the RFP Timeline (Section 1.3).
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1.5 Proposal Questions
Requests for clarification and questions to this RFP must be received by the City not later
than the date shown above in the RFP Timeline (Section 1.3) for the submittal of written
inquires. The firm's failure to request clarification and submit questions by the date in the
RFP Timeline above shall be considered to constitute the firm's acceptance of all City's
terms and conditions and requirements.
The City shall issue addenda reflecting questions and answers to this RFP, if any, and
shall be posted to North Carolina electronic Vendor Portal (eVP). No information,
instruction or advice provided orally or informally by any City personnel, whether made in
response to a question or otherwise in connection with this RFP, shall be considered
authoritative or binding. Proposers can only rely on written material contained in an
Addendum to this RFP.
It is important that all Proposers submitting to this RFP periodically check eVP for
any Addenda. It is the Proposers responsibility to ensure that all addenda have
been reviewed and, if required signed and returned.
All questions related to this solicitation must be submitted in writing (via email) to the
following individual - questions submitted via telephone will not be answered. Please
include the following in the email subject line: 274-FIN2026-01 Questions.
Contact Name Email Address
David Fitzgerald david.fitzgerald@raleighnc.gov
1.6 Proposal Submission Requirements and Contact Information
Proposals must follow the format as defined in Section 2 (PROPOSALS), and be
addressed and submitted as follows:
DELIVERED BY US POSTAL SERVICE DELIVERED BY OTHER DEIVERY
MAIL: SERVICES:
City of Raleigh City of Raleigh
RFP No. 274-FIN2026-01 RFP No. 274-FIN2026-01
Lockbox Remittance Services Lockbox Remittance Services
ATTN: David Fitzgerald ATTN: David Fitzgerald
PO Box 590 222 W Hargett St, Room 118
Raleigh, NC 27602 Raleigh, NC 27601
Proposals must be enclosed in an envelope or package and clearly marked with:
the name of the submitting company, the RFP number 274-FIN2026-01 and the RFP
Title: Lockbox Remittance Services.
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Proposers must submit:
A. one (1) signed original;
B. one (1) electronic version of the signed proposal and;
The electronic version of the Proposal must be submitted as a viewable and printable
Adobe Portable Document File (PDF) on a USB Flash Drive. The PDF must not be
password-protected, encrypted, or otherwise restricted and must be fully accessible for
City review, evaluation, reproduction, and record retention. Proposals submitted with
access restrictions may be deemed non-responsive.
If the proposer elects to mail in its proposal, they must allow sufficient time to ensure the
City's proper receipt of the package by the time specified in the RFP Timeline (Section
1.3). Regardless of the delivery method, it is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure
that their proposal arrives at the designated location specified in this Section by the due
date and time specified in the RFP Timeline (Section 1.3). Proposals that arrive after the due
date and time will not be accepted or considered for any reason whatsoever
Proposers must respond to the entire Request for Proposals (RFP) and must
complete and submit all required attachments and appendices as part of their proposal.
Any incomplete proposal may be eliminated from competition at the discretion of
the City of Raleigh. The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals for any
reason and to waive any informality it deems in its best interest.
1.7 Business Engagement & Opportunities
The City of Raleigh maintains processes to conduct business with all business
enterprises, including small, emerging, growing, under-capitalized, and under-resourced
firms or organizations.
1.8 Rights to Submitted Material
All proposals and supporting materials, as well as correspondence relating to this RFP,
shall become the property of the City. The content of all submittals will be held confidential
until the selection of the firm is made. Proposals will be reviewed by the Evaluation Team,
as well as other City staff and members of the general public who submit public record
requests. Any proprietary data must be clearly marked. In submitting a Proposal, each
Prospective Proposer agrees that the City may reveal any trade secret materials
contained in such response to all City staff and City officials involved in the selection
process and to any outside consultant or other third party who serves on the Evaluation
Team or who is hired by the City to assist in the selection process.
Proposals marked entirely as "confidential", "proprietary", or "trade secret" will
be considered non-responsive and will be removed from the evaluation process.
1.9 Communications
All communications of any nature regarding this RFP with any City staff, elected City
officials, evaluation committee members, are strictly forbidden from the time the
solicitation is publicly posted until award. Questions must be submitted in writing to the
individual designated in Section 1.1 (Purpose), prior to the deadline provided in the RFP
Timeline (Section 1.3). Violation of this provision may result in the firm's proposal being
removed from consideration.
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1.10 Lobbying
By responding to this RFP, the firm certifies that is has not and will not pay any person or
firm to influence or attempt to influence an officer or employee of the City or the State of
North Carolina, or any elected official in connection with obtaining a contract as a result
of this RFP.
1.11 Conflicts of Interest
City of Raleigh contracts are controlled by three conflict of interest provisions.
First, federal procurement standards provide in 2 CFR 200.318 (c)(1),
No employee, officer, or agent may participate in the selection, award, or administration
of a contract supported by a Federal award if he or she has a real or apparent conflict
of interest. Such a conflict of interest would arise when the employee, officer, or agent,
any member of his or her immediate family, his or her partner, or a firm which employs
or is about to employ any of the parties indicated herein, has a financial or other interest
in or a tangible personal benefit from a firm considered for a contract. The officers,
employees, and agents of the non-Federal entity may neither solicit nor accept
gratuities, favors, or anything of monetary value from contractors or parties to
subcontracts.
Similarly, the North Carolina General Statutes provides a criminal statute for conflicts of
interest in public contracting. N.C.G.S. 14-234(a):
(1) No public officer or employee who is involved in making or administering a contract
on behalf of a public agency may derive a direct benefit from the contract except as
provided in this section, or as otherwise allowed by law. (2) A public officer or employee
who will derive a direct benefit from a contract with the public agency he or she serves,
but who is not involved in making or administering the contract, shall not attempt to
influence any other person who is involved in making or administering the contract. (3)
No public officer or employee may solicit or receive any gift, favor, reward, service, or
promise of reward, including a promise of future employment, in exchange for
recommending, influencing, or attempting to influence the award of a contract by the
public agency he or she serves.
City of Raleigh Charter Section 3.9 regulates private transactions between the City and
its officials and employees. The Charter states:
No member of the City Council, official, or employee of the City of Raleigh shall be
financially interested, or have any personal beneficial interest, either directly or
indirectly, as agent, representative, or otherwise, in the purchase of, or contract for, or
in furnishing any materials, equipment or supplies to the City of Raleigh, nor shall any
official or employee of the City of Raleigh accept or receive, or agree to accept or
receive, directly or indirectly, from any person, firm or corporation to whom any contract
may be awarded or from whom any materials, equipment or supplies may be purchased
by the City of Raleigh, by rebate, gift, or otherwise, any money or anything of value
whatsoever, or any promise, obligation or contract for future reward or compensation,
for recommending or procuring the uses of any such materials, equipment or supplies
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by the City of Raleigh; no member of the City Council, official or employee of the City of
Raleigh shall for his own personal benefit operate, directly or indirectly, any concession
in any building or on any lands of the City of Raleigh, nor shall any official or employee
of the City of Raleigh bid for or be awarded any contract granting concessionary rights
of any nature or kind from the City of Raleigh; it shall be unlawful for any member of the
City Council, official or employee of the City of Raleigh to bid for or to purchase or to
contract to purchase from the City of Raleigh any real estate, equipment, materials, or
supplies of any nature or kind whatsoever, either directly or indirectly, at either public or
private sale, either singly, or through or jointly with any other person.
1.12 Proposer Expenses
The City of Raleigh will not be responsible for any expenses incurred by any Proposer in
the development of a response to this Request for Proposal or any other activities
associated with this procurement including but not limited to any onsite (or otherwise)
interviews and/or presentations, and/or supplemental information provided, submitted, or
given to City of Raleigh and/or its representatives. Further, the City of Raleigh shall
reserve the right to cancel the work described herein prior to issuance and acceptance of
any contractual agreement/purchase order by the recommended Proposer even if the
awarding authority for each entity has formally accepted a recommendation.
1.13 Proposer Acceptance
Submission of any proposal indicates a Proposer's acceptance of the conditions
contained in this RFP. Furthermore, the City of Raleigh is not bound to accept a proposal
on the basis of lowest price, and further, the City has the sole discretion and reserves the
right to cancel this RFP, and to reject any and all proposals, to waive any and all
informalities and/or irregularities and reserves the right to re-advertise this RFP with either
the identical or revised scope and specifications if it is deemed to be in the best interests
of the City to do so.
The City of Raleigh reserves the right to accept or reject any or all of the items in the
proposal, and to award the contract in whole or in part and/or negotiate any or all items
with individual Proposers if it is deemed in the best interest of the City to do so. Moreover,
the City reserves the right to make no selection if proposals are deemed to be outside the
fiscal constraint or not in the best interest of the City.
2 PROPOSALS
Submitted proposals must follow the format outlined below. The City may reject as non-
responsive at its sole discretion any proposal that does not provide complete and/or adequate
responses or departs in any substantial way from the required format.
2.1 Request for Proposals Required Document Format
Proposals should be on 8-1/2" x 11" (A4-sized) paper, printed on both sides, bound with
only removable clips or staples (no 3-ring binders), and divided into sections using tabs
to easily identify and separate each section as follows:
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2.1.1. Section/Tab 1: Cover Letter
Provide an introduction letter summarizing the unique proposal of your firm to meet the
needs of this service requirement. This letter should be presented on the firm's official
letterhead and signed by an authorized representative who has the authority to enter
into a contract with the City on behalf of the firm. Additionally, include the name,
address, telephone and email address of the individual who serves as the point of
contact for this solicitation.
2.1.2. Section/Tab 2: Corporate Background and Experience
Include background information on the firm and provide detailed information regarding
the firm's experience with similar projects. Provide a list of all similar contracts
performed within the past five (5) years, accompanied by at least three (3) references,
including the contact person, firm name, telephone number, and email address. These
references should be current customers who use your retail and electronic lockbox
services, preferably organizations within our industry or with comparable processing
needs, volumes, and payment types. Include a mix of long-standing and recent
customers and indicate how long each client has been.
Include the total amount invoiced for each listed project, the length of the project, and
list of those involved in the project who are also proposed for the subject project named
in this solicitation. Failure to provide a list of all similar contracts in the specified period
may result in the rejection of the firm's proposal. The evaluation team reserves the right
to contact any or all listed references, and to contact other public entities regarding past
performance on similar projects.
2.1.3. Section/Tab 3: Financial Information
Review and provide one of the following three (3) financial statement options:
1. Recent audited or reviewed financial statements prepared by an independent
certified public accountant (CPA) that shall include, at a minimum, a balance sheet,
income statement (i.e., profit/loss statement) and cash flow statement and, if the
audited or reviewed financial statements were prepared more than six (6) months
prior to the issuance of this RFP, the Proposer shall submit its most recent internal
financial statements (balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement or
budget with entries reflecting revenues and expenditures from the date of the audited
or reviewed financial statements to the end of the most recent financial reporting
period (i.e., the quarter or month preceding the issuance date of this RFP)).
OR
2. Recent compiled financial statements prepared by an independent CPA that shall
include, at a minimum, a balance sheet, income statement (i.e., profit/loss statement)
and cash flow statement and, if the compiled financial statements were prepared
more than three (3) months prior to the issuance of this RFP, the Proposer shall
submit its most recent internal financial statements (balance sheet, income
statement and cash flow statement or budget with entries reflecting revenues and
expenditures to date), and other evidence of financial stability such as most recently
filed income tax return, evidence of a line of credit/loans/other type of financing with
statement of amount in use/outstanding balance (e.g., a complete copy commitment
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letter, loan agreement, billing statement reflecting the line of credit or statement from
lender acknowledging the commitment to fund the Proposer's stated financing),
personal guaranty with copies of personal income tax filing and statement of net
worth or such other evidence that is accurate, reliable and trustworthy regarding the
Proposer's financial stability.
OR
3. Include a certified, signed statement from a licensed CPA regularly engaged in the
review of the firm's financial information verifying the financial viability of the firm.
All financial information, statements and/or documents provided in response to this
solicitation shall be kept confidential provided that EACH PAGE is marked as follows:
"CONFIDENTIAL - DO NOT DISCLOSE EXCEPT FOR THE EXPRESS PURPOSE OF
PROPOSAL EVALUATION."
"Recent" shall be defined as financial statements that were prepared within the 12
months preceding the issuance date of this RFP.
Consolidated financial statements of the Proposer's parent or related
corporation/business entity shall not be considered, unless: (1) the Proposer's actual
financial performance for the designated period is separately identified in and/or
attached to the consolidated statements, (2) the parent or related corporation/business
entity provides the State with a document wherein the parent or related
corporation/business entity will be financially responsible for the Proposer's
performance of the contract and the consolidated statement demonstrates the parent or
related corporation's/business entity's financial ability to perform the contract, financial
stability and/or such other financial considerations identified in the evaluation criteria;
and/or (3) Proposer provides its own internally prepared financial statements and such
other evidence of its own financial stability identified above.
The firm's failure to provide any of the above-referenced financial statements may result
in the proposal being removed from consideration. Proposers are also encouraged to
explain any negative financial information, and to provide documentation supporting
those explanations and demonstrating the financial strength of the firm.
2.1.4. Section/Tab 4: Project Understanding, Approach and Schedule
Provide a comprehensive narrative, outline, and/or graph demonstrating the firm's
understanding and approach to accomplishing the Scope of Work section of this RFP.
The proposer shall, at a minimum provide a proposed solution to the following:
1. Firm name and business address of proposed lockbox processing center.
2. List your schedule for post office pickups of retail lockbox mail for weekdays,
weekends and holidays. List holiday calendar when processing will not take place.
List your average number of lockbox mail pickups each day.
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