99 -- GENERAL PURPOSE STORED VALUE CARDS

Background The United States Postal Service (USPS) desires to engage in a process with companies to discuss establishing a General Purpose Stored Value Card Program. This process requires the submission of information from interested companies followed by USPS evaluation. Potential companies that satisfy this evaluation process may be asked to engage in discussions with representatives from the Postal Service, and may be requested to make a formal presentation in-person and final evaluations will then occur. A business agreement, in a form provided by Postal Service, is the expected result. Purpose The USPS desires to sell General Purpose Stored Value Cards at approximately 15,000 locations nationwide. The USPS General Purpose Stored Value Card Program will be operated as an alliance between the USPS and a commercial partner. The selected partner will be responsible for product design, development, production, distribution, customer service, advertising, marketing, merchandising support, application processing, card fulfillment, transaction processing, funds settlement, and store-level reporting. The partner will assume responsibility for transactions resulting from funds loaded on cards sold by the USPS. The partner will also be liable for replacement of any lost or stolen card. The USPS will be responsible for card sales, point of sale activation of cold cards through point of sale equipment, and reloading of such cards. Description The USPS General Purpose Stored Value Card program will be comprised of two types of cards: @ Instant Issue Card - The instant issue General Purpose Stored Value Card will be sold for any dollar amount up the limit established by the USPS and its partner - not to exceed $500. The funds loaded on the cards will be immediately available to the purchaser. The instant issue card will not be reloadable. @ Registered Card - After the initial purchase of an instant issue General Purpose Stored Value Card, customers will have the option of obtaining a personalized, e.g. registered, card by calling the partner's toll-free number and providing their name, date of birth, social security number, street address and telephone number and government issued ID number (driver's license, passport etc.). When this option is selected, an embossed card will be sent to the customer by First-Class Mail at the expense of the partner. Upon phone activation of the embossed card, the original card will be de-activated and the partner will transfer the remaining funds on the de-activated card to the new registered card. The registered card will be reloadable up to the maximum value established by the USPS and its partner - not to exceed $5,000 at any time and the aggregate reloads will not exceed $20,000 during a calendar year. Customers who obtain registered cards will receive monthly account statements by First-Class Mail at the expense of the partner. Information Requested 1. Capability of Company The USPS is seeking information from companies capable of providing a solution for the sale of General Purpose Stored Value Card at selected retail locations. Interested companies should address all of the competencies listed below. Companies are also encouraged to identify additional capabilities, enhancements and/or concepts. @ Describe your company's ability to provide a solution that includes, but is not limited to, network capabilities, card design/development, card production, card distribution, 24/7 customer service, advertising, marketing, quality assurance, merchandising support, application processing, fulfillment, transaction processing, account processing/servicing, funds settlement, consumer protection, compliance management, and risk mitigation solutions (including anti-money laundering compliance) for General Purpose Stored Value Cards. Note: The USPS does not allow debits to its accounts for funds settlements. @ Describe your implementation process, including a sample timeline and description of various implementation tasks. @ Describe the features of your company?s General Purpose Stored Value Card, including any special features such as, calling card capability, dual card distribution, loyalty/reward program, remittance, bill payment, reload network, etc. @ Describe your company's ability to provide store-level reporting of sales and revenue, including, but not limited to, daily, monthly, quarterly, annual, and customized analysis. @ Describe existing General Purpose Stored Value Card programs your company administers and your company's position in the marketplace. @ Separately describe your company's capability for an Instant Issue and Registered card. @ Describe the target market(s) for General Purpose Stored Value Card. Include market research, industry trends, and the size of the opportunity for each target market. @ State which stored value card brands (e.g., MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover, other) your company can offer the USPS. Describe the primary advantages of each of these brands. Would your company be open to the USPS choosing the brand it prefers to be sold through USPS outlets? @ Describe any third parties your company will use to issue, process and track cards or perform any role in the USPS Stored Value Card Program. Describe the role each third party will perform. @ Describe your company's ability and willingness to produce customized packaging and support for offsite activation that would allow the General Purpose Stored Value Card to be mailed to a third party, as a gift card, and be activated by the recipient at an offsite location. 2. Revenue Sharing Proposal The USPS desires to enter into a revenue sharing relationship with the selected partner. Interested companies should recommend a financial arrangement including, but not limited to, each of the fee categories listed below. The proposal should incorporate suggested prices for each applicable category, the USPS' share as a percentage, and the total revenue opportunity. Funding for implementation and marketing support as well as any other incentives should be addressed in this section. Also include all assumptions used to determine the revenue opportunity as listed below. Fee Categories 1. Card Acquisition 2. Card Load 3. Bank Load/Process 4. Domestic ATM Transaction 5. International ATM Transaction 6. ATM Decline 7. Domestic POS Transaction 8. International POS Transaction 9. POS Signature Based 10. POS Decline 11. Customer Service IVR Customer Service Live 12. Replacement Card 13. Dormancy/Inactivity 14. Float (Percentage designated to USPS) 15. Interchange -Variable Rate 16. Interchange - Collected Rate 17. Interchange (Percentage designated to USPS) 18. Breakage (Percentage designated to USPS) 19. Monthly Maintenance 20. Card-to-Card Transfer 21. Liquidation 22. Other Implementation and Marketing Support Include your company's willingness to provide funding for the following: 1. Marketing Support 2. POS System Modification 3. Incentives/Guarantees Transaction Assumptions For nos. 1 through 14, provide Frequency (Per Month) and Average Amount for each. 1. Card Sales Per Store - Instant Issue 2. Card Sales Per Store - Registered 3. Card Loads - USPS Window 4. Card Loads - Bank or Other 5. Card-to-Card Transfers (Dual Card) 6. ATM - Withdrawal 7. ATM - Declines 8. ATM - Balance Check 9. POS Purchases - Signature 10. POS Purchases - PIN 11. POS Declines 12. Customer Service (Live Agent) 13. Customer Service (IVR/Automated) 14. Other International 15. Percent of Cards Used Internationally - provide percent of total Card Life 16. Average Card Life in Months - provide number in months For nos. 17 through 18, provide Percent of Total and Average Balance for each. 17. Card Renewals 18. Dormant Cards 19. Replacement Cards 3. Strategic Match with the USPS @ Describe your company's competitive advantage and the value your company would bring to the USPS. Explain why your company would be a good match for the USPS. Include a detailed explanation of the type of support your company will provide to help manage the program i.e. monetary contribution, dedicated program manager, market research, etc. @ Provide a list of all subcontractor(s), third parties, or affiliates required or planned. The RFI must include the nature, cost, and extent of work, identification, qualifications, number of years in business, and relevant experience. Also include asset size of any banking partner. 4. Technology The vendor will be required to work with the USPS Information Technology professionals to design and develop the technical components of the solution. @ Provide an overview and architecture of your network, systems and platforms. Describe specifically how the program will work in interaction with our POS system and credit card processing. - Does your business model allow for the USPS to extend its network to your facility and place a computer or computers on your floor for interface with your card processor? - Does your business support a network connected interface for your card processor? - Will your company provide a detailed and comprehensive specification for the network interface and message layout (input and output) that you support? - Will your company consider absorbing any technological changeover costs? @ Describe each possible transaction including the transaction process flow and the average transaction time for each type. @ Describe the hardware and software requirements for using your card transaction reporting software packages. - What are the installation options for reporting packages? - Are the reporting packages available via internet and email? - What technical support is available for your reporting packages and during what hours is technical support available? @ Describe your company's back-up data center for redundancy and disaster recovery plan including the time required to become fully operational after a disaster. @ Describe your technical help desk or technical support for transaction processing (activation authorization) and settlement problems including the location, capacity, backup support. @ Describe your company's electronic report generation capability. @ Describe the security protection built into your system and the type of encryption. @ Describe the type of card technology (e.g. Magnetic Strip, Smart Card, RFID) your company can offer USPS. Describe the primary advantages of each of these technologies. 5. Financial Capability Submit financial statements for the past two years. Provide examples of your company's financial ability to administer a General Purpose Stored Value Card program on a large national scale, including, but not limited to, a description of the size of the program administered (e.g., number of cards, amount of funds processed, number of sales locations, etc.). 6. Bank Secrecy Act Compliance The USPS General Purpose Stored Value Card program will be monitored by the USPS Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) Compliance Office. The BSA office will implement a set of internal controls to ensure compliance with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws, and work with the program manager and alliance partners to ensure compliance with all applicable regulations. Companies interested in responding to this RFI must address the following questions: @ What procedures are in place for identity verification of customers who purchase the USPS? General Purpose Stored Value Card? @ What procedures are in place to comply with federal AML regulations; specifically, does your company have an AML program in place? @ Would your company be willing to have Postal officials review your AML policies and procedures? @ Will your company agree to provide daily data files containing: 1) all customers' names, card numbers, addresses, dates of birth, SSNs, government issued ID number; 2) transaction information including, card number, amount of transaction, date and time of transaction, and location of each transaction. NOTE: The BSA office will provide specific date requirements when a partner has been selected. In addition, the BSA office has set the following limits on the registered General Purpose Stored Value Card: @ Registration information will include: Names, Address SSN, DOB, and Government issued photo ID (type and number) @ $5,000 Maximum value at any time @ $2,500 Maximum value load @ $20,000 Maximum reloading in one year period @ Reload $500 or more must present same ID as at registration @ $500 Maximum daily ATM withdrawal @ Cards expire one year from the date of issuance @ For identify verification - the name on the bank account must be the same as appears on the card for the bank-to-bank load @ Partner must provide a guarantee of security (indemnity in the event of breach) to protect customer information @ If the law should change and require additional controls, the partner must comply. 7. Sarbanes-Oxley Act Compliance The USPS is required to comply with provisions of Sarbanes Oxley legislation as stipulated in the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006, including but not restricted to compliance with section 404 and 302. Accordingly, the USPS may require SAS 70 certification or other verification procedures concerning the alliance partner's internal control processes to the extent they impact USPS internal control environment. Request For Information Submission Instructions Please identify the business, contact name, title, business phone, fax, e-mail and mailing address of the person at your company to whom all future correspondence from the USPS regarding this business opportunity should be addressed. Interested companies should submit 10 (ten) bound hard copies of their response package to this RFI by USPS First Class Mail service or an electronic copy utilizing the USPS Electronic Postmark (EPM) service to the following address: Gloria Cheek Manager, Retail Assets General Purpose Stored Card Initiative United States Postal Service 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW Room 2P606 Washington DC 20260-4131 [email protected] Responses are due by 12:00 PM EST, November 30, 2007. No faxed copies will be accepted. The limit is 15 pages and should be concise and focused by addressing each of the items listed under the section of this RFI entitled "Information Requested." Headings should correspond with the items found in this document and you should number each section and all pages. Sales Brochures, videos and other marketing information materials are not requested and will not be reviewed. Questions regarding responses to this RFI or general questions from interested companies regarding the content, objectives or nature of this RFI may be addressed, BY EMAIL ONLY, to Gloria Cheek, at gloria.d.cheek @usps.gov. NO TELEPHONE INQUIRIES WILL BE ENTERTAINED. This RFI supercedes any previous RFI issued by the USPS concerning stored value cards or related instruments. By submitting a response to this RFI, companies agree and acknowledge: @ The USPS evaluation and selection of companies for further discussions is a business decision and will be based upon a review of the company's response to the RFI. @ The USPS will not provide its rationale for the selection or non-selection of a prospective business partner for further discussions with the USPS. However, all companies will receive a written acknowledgement as to their selection for, or removal from, further consideration. @ By submitting a response to this RFI, companies agree that any selection or non-selection of a business partner by the USPS is final and unreviewable. @ The USPS is not obligated to enter into any agreements or contracts as a result of this RFI. @ The USPS will not pay for the information solicited under this RFI. @ This RFI contemplates a contractual agreement to pursue a business arrangement and does not constitute an action governed by USPS Supplying Principles and Practices. @ By submitting a response to this RFI, companies agree to waive any and all rights they may have to access USPS retail locations as may be included in their merchant agreements under which the USPS may have responsibility. To the extent that a response to this RFI is provided by any credit card association, that association waives any and all rights to access USPS retail locations possessed by any of its acquirers or issuers under any of the association's merchant agreements. @ By submitting a response to this RFI, companies agree, if selected as our program partner, they will not sell a competing Stored Value Card to customers acquired through the USPS General Purpose Stored Value Card Program. DISCLAIMER The USPS reserves the right to share your information internally only, and will keep your responses confidential. This information will not be made available to any third party unless specifically requested and approved by you on a case by case basis.