Payment Card Services
Framework Description
NEPO505 Payment Card Services is a framework for prepaid card accounts and commercial procurement cards for UK public sector organisations. NEPO led its development in collaboration with ESPO and YPO. It has two lots, and buyers can call off by direct award or competition. It is a standard framework, not a DPS, running to 20 September 2027 with no extension listed.
Context & Use Case
Councils use prepaid cards to give allocated budgets for specific purposes, such as social care payments, grants or staff expenses, with spending visible in real time. Procurement cards let staff make low-value, high-volume purchases without purchase orders and invoices. Both cut admin and improve control over spending across departments. Buyers can choose either lot or both.
Scope of Services
Lot 1: Prepaid Card Accounts Lot 2: Commercial Procurement Cards Prepaid cards for social care, grants or staff expenses Procurement cards for low-value, high-volume purchases
Lots
Lot 1: Prepaid Card Accounts; Lot 2: Commercial Procurement Cards
Who Can Apply
Suits card issuers and payment providers able to offer prepaid or commercial card programmes to public bodies. Applications for NEPO505 are closed, so providers not appointed cannot join until it is re-tendered, likely ahead of 20 September 2027.
Buyer Benefits
Card programmes reduce invoice processing and give finance teams real-time oversight of spend. Buyers value a framework run by three major purchasing organisations, with direct award or competition and terms already set for public sector compliance. Prepaid cards also give recipients of social care payments a simpler way to manage their budgets.
Next Steps
Watch NEPO's framework page for the replacement procurement during 2027; NEPO led the current framework with ESPO and YPO. Prepare evidence of public sector card programmes, controls, reporting, security and support for vulnerable cardholders. Appointed providers should keep implementation case studies up to date.
How Athena Can Help
NEPO505 ends in September 2027, so the replacement is on the horizon. Athena's bid strategy and planning plans your bid early, and our specialist bid writers turn your controls, reporting and implementation record into strong, scored answers.
Our framework submission support also handles selection questions, certificates and a compliance check, and can point you to other payment and finance frameworks. We can also model your likely score against other card issuers so your bid focuses where marks are won.
