Invitation To Tender for Nexus Technical Operator
Nexus Global Payments (NGP) will be contracting a technical operator (the Nexus Technical Operator – NTO) to develop the Nexus software, set up and operate the infrastructure and network, and run the day-today technical and business operations of Nexus.
NGP aims to contract with a single party who will play the role of the NTO.
Key information about this process is outlined below.
1. Scope and key objectives
The NTO will be responsible for three key areas:
– The Nexus core and ancillary software and infrastructure
The NTO must deliver a robust, API/ISO20022 based payment processing platform, designed for high-volume, real-time transaction processing, including the required cloud infrastructure, as well as the supporting software, such as service desk software, a knowledge base and a developer portal.
– Technical operations
The NTO must ensure Nexus is highly resilient and adheres to the requirements of operating a 24/7, real-time payment service. The NTO is responsible for ensuring Nexus to be operational (including business continuity/business recovery, incident management and capacity management etc. ) and secure (including operating a Security and Network Operations Centre).
– Business operations
The NTO is also responsible for operating the service desk, onboarding new participants and managing support requests.
The NTO must also support NGP in its regulatory obligations and have an attitude of cooperation and continuous improvement. NGP seeks a true long-term partner, who is committed to improve the cross-border payment experience together with NGP, the Instant Payment Systems (IPS) and the banks.
2. Key Dates
NGP will soon be launching the tender process to select the NTO (expected Q2 2025). To receive the tender documentation and be eligible to submit a bid, prospective bidders are required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with NGP prior to the tender being opened. Key dates for NTO role are as follows:
- 28th April 2025: Tender will be launched
- 26th May 2025 (9am SGT): Bidders to submit intention to bid and no more NDAs will be accepted
- 23rd June 2025 (9am SGT): Bids due
Expected bidder presentation window: Mid August – Mid September
3. Eligibility Criteria
We welcome proposals from vendors which are:
- Providers of payments processing technology to (a) payment system operators or (b) banks and payment service providers
- Providers of business process outsourcing services to (a) payment system operators or (b) banks and payment service providers
- Payment system operators
The vendor is expected to have a track record of working in:
- Instant (account-to-account) domestic payments, and/or
- Cross-border payments (instant or otherwise)
The vendor must be able to support the business hours of Nexus and its member countries (currently time-zones from UTC+5:30 to UTC+8:00)
In addition, the NTO’s solution is expected to have the following characteristics:
- The solution must enable account-to-account payments by connecting instant payment systems
- Solution must not depend on FMIs other than domestic instant payment systems
Bidders who are unsure if they meet the eligibility to participate should first contact NGP.
4. Joint Bids and Subcontracting
Joint bids and consortium bids are welcomed, but in such case, one member of the consortium must be assigned as the lead bidder and the sole contracting party.
The NTO may choose to outsource parts of the scope of the Tender, as long as it ensures that any subcontracting arrangement is solely between the NTO and the subcontractor; the NTO is not contracting on behalf of NGP, and the NTO remains fully responsible for the acts, omissions, performance, and compliance of its subcontractors as though they were the NTO’s own.
These outsourcing arrangements should be described in the offer document. If successful, NGP will contract with the NTO, and the NTO will manage their own contractual arrangements with its subcontractors.
5. How to Get Started
Prospective bidders are required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with NGPto receive the Statement of Work and tender information
Process to receive tender
documentation and submit a bid:
1
Check if your company meets the eligibility criteria
2
If yes, fill in the form below requesting the NDA document
4
Receive NDA from NGP and sign
5
Once ITT is released, tender documentation will be emailed to the nominated representative from the company
Bidders will not be eligible to receive the tender documentation until they have a signed NDA with NGP. NDAs should be signed prior to the tender being opened. For the avoidance of doubt, if a prospective bidder requests and/or signs an NDA with NGP after the tender is open, they will not receive any additional time to submit their bid and must comply with the deadlines outlined in the tender documentation.
Once the tender has been opened, all prospective bidders with a signed NDA will be emailed the tender documentation and this webpage will be updated to reflect the stage of the tender process at any given time.
Complete form below to receive the NDA
Note: Please check your junk/spam folder if you don’t see our email in your inbox.
6. Questions or Need More Info?
Before considering submitting an intention to bid, bidders should ensure they have reviewed the following resources to understand the scope and functionality of Nexus:
- Nexus Phase 3 Report available in the Knowledge Centre – Nexus reports section in this website.
- The detailed technical documentation and implementation guides publicly available at [docs.bis.org/nexus]
No further information will be disclosed at this time, should you request further information we would encourage you to complete the following form with your contact details and the organization you represent requesting an NDA as outlined in the instructions above.
If you meet the above eligibility criteria and would like to proceed with signing a NDA, please fill in the form above.
If after the submission of the form you have not received the specific NDA in the indicated “key contact e-mail”, please contact us at [email protected] and we will assist you.