Building a Payment Provider Request for Proposal

The short answer

A good request for proposal (RFP) describes your business, your volumes and your needs clearly, then asks every provider the same specific questions so answers can be compared side by side. Ask for evidence and documentation, not just yes or no answers, and score responses against criteria you define before reading them.

Section 1: About your business

Provide context so providers can answer accurately:

• Business type, products and countries served.
• Current monthly transaction count and value, and expected growth (use your own estimates).
• Customer mix: individuals, businesses, overseas.
• Current payment methods and problems you want to solve.

Section 2: Payment methods

• Which methods do you offer for our business type in each country?
• What are the limits per transaction and per day?
• Which methods support refunds and partial refunds?

Section 3: Operations

• How and when is settlement made? In which currency?
• What reports are available, in what format and how often?
• How are disputes and chargebacks handled?
• What is the process for refunds?

Section 4: Technical

• Integration options: hosted page, API, plugins.
• Sandbox availability and documentation link.
• Webhook or callback support, retries and signatures.
• Idempotency support for creating payments.

Section 5: Support and reliability

• Support channels and hours.
• How incidents are communicated.
• Escalation contacts.

Section 6: Commercials and contract

• Full fee schedule, including setup, monthly and refund fees.
• Reserve or rolling hold requirements, if any.
• Contract length, notice period and termination terms.

Section 7: Onboarding

• Required documents and expected review time.
• Reasons applications are usually declined.

Scoring

Create a scorecard before reading responses, weighting what matters most to you, for example operations 30%, methods 25%, technical 20%, support 15%, price 10%. Score each answer with notes.

Practical tips for running the RFP

• Set a deadline and a single contact person for questions.
• Share answers to provider questions with all participants so everyone works from the same information.
• Ask for sample reports, sample contracts and documentation links rather than descriptions.
• Request references from merchants similar to you, and ask those references about support and settlement, not just features.

After responses arrive

Shortlist two or three providers and run a structured demo using the same script for each; see our gateway demo script. Then compare the contract terms using operational contract questions. Keep a written record of why you chose one provider, which helps when you review the decision later.

Common RFP mistakes

• Asking only yes/no questions that every provider answers "yes".
• Focusing on headline price while ignoring settlement timing and reserves.
• Leaving operations and finance staff out of the evaluation.
• Accepting roadmap promises as if they were existing features.

Frequently asked questions

How many providers should receive the RFP?

Three to five is manageable for most merchants.

Should I share real volumes?

Share realistic estimates under a confidentiality agreement if needed.

If you would like PayEurasia to respond to your requirements, start a merchant onboarding enquiry.