Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Public Debt, Division of Procurement, 200 Third Street, Room 207, Parkersburg WV 26101-5312

D -- SELLING U.S. SAVINGS BONDS VIA RECURRING AUTOMATED DEBIT ACH POC Point of Contact, Bruce Feirtag, 304-480-7600. The Bureau of the Public Debt is assessing the market for an automated recurring debit Automated Clearing House (ACH) purchase system. Public Debt, the Treasury bureau which oversees the U.S. Savings Bonds program, is considering the possibility of selling U.S. Savings Bonds via recurring automated debit ACH. Public Debt currently sells U.S. Savings Bonds to the public through either over-the-counter sales at financial institutions or through payroll deductions at participating employers. (Sales levels typically exceed $6 Billion and 70 Million bonds annually). Debit ACH savings bond purchases would provide an additional method for the public to purchase bonds on a regular basis. Debit ACH bond purchases, if implemented, would be in addition to, not a replacement for, the current over-the-counter and payroll savings purchase methods. If debit ACH bond sales were implemented, Public Debt anticipates performing marketing functions to publicize the new sales method to the public. The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to assess vendor capability to design and operate a recurring debit ACH program for the purchase of U.S. Savings Bonds. Vendors do not have to be a current issuing agent of savings bonds to respond to this RFI. This is a request for information only and should in no way be construed as an order, offer, contract, or a commitment to procure the services described. Public Debt is interested in the following capabilities: (A) ACH debit capability (debit from both checking and savings accounts is desirable) in accordance with NACHA (National Automated Clearinghouse Association) specifications. Other desirable features include: the ability to accrue the purchase price of a savings bond through multiple ACH debits, on-line account access and on-line customer service, and the ability to accept debit authorizations and account information in either paper or electronic form. (B) Ability to maintain and operate from a computer data base of customer information, (desirable data base type software includes DB2, SAS, and MS-SQL Server-- other ODBC compliant software may also be acceptable). (C) Capacity to debit customer accounts on a recurring basis. (D) Maintenance of multiple order or debit instructions for an individual customer (desirable features include multiple combinations of owners, co-owners, beneficiaries, and mailing addresses). (E) Electronic transfer of funds to Federal Reserve Bank. (F) Electronic transfer of inscription data to a bond inscription site or ability to inscribe and mail bonds. (G) Provide customer service in compliance with NACHA protection of information and Privacy Act guidelines. Public Debt is interested in obtaining information and, where possible, product and services literature on pre-authorized automated recurring debit ACH purchase systems. Upon initial examination of materials provided, Public Debt may request vendors to provide briefings to Public Debt technical and management staff. Briefings will not be a mandatory requirement, and will be strictly voluntary on the part of the vendor. Please note that this information is being requested for information and planning purposes only as Public Debt is primarily interested in assessing the viability of this purchase method. The Government does not intend to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information requested. Public Debt will assess the ability of the market to meet the needs as stated above based on the information received. Dependent upon the results of this market survey, Public Debt may issue a solicitation to acquire the appropriate services. Responses to this RFI are requested by September 30, 1996. (0225)

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