According to the RFO, the selected vendor must provide all necessary implementation and transition services to switch Texas.gov from its current payment processing model to a new solution. After the switch, the vendor must provide ongoing support and maintenance and participate in DIR’s Shared Technology Services (STS) program and operating model.
For context, DIR’s STS program offers various shared information resources technologies, including data center services, managed security services, the Texas open data portal and Texas.gov.
For the past 20 years, Texas.gov has been the official website for the state. In September 2018, the Texas.gov program switched from a public-private partnership to a state-funded and -managed program, putting the state in charge of revenue, expenses and services.
To date, Texas.gov provides consumer services to over 300,000 state and local customers, including license renewals, registrations and vital records requests.
From a statistics perspective alone, the RFO states Texas.gov’s annual volume reached approximately $2 billion in 2022, and the website’s yearly transactions exceed 26 million.
So, how will this new payment processing solution come into play?
According to the RFO, the new solution will facilitate digital transactions, payment gateway services, payment processing, settlement processing and reporting more efficiently.
The solution will also securely handle cardholder data, comply with the Texas Risk and Authorization Management Program (TX-RAMP) for cloud computing services, mitigate and reduce fraud and collect all transaction data and deliver it to the state’s CPA treasury.
More information about RFO No. DIR-CPO-TMP-569 can be found online. The due date for vendors to submit information is June 27.
