*Please note in light of Coronavirus (COVID-19) we have opted to hold the event online, with a change of date. As such, attendance will NO LONGER be limited to 2 individuals per organisation*

Scottish Government is in the process of establishing a common payments service, with the potential for use across the Scottish public sector.

There are currently multiple ways of making and receiving payments across government and the public sector – there is clear duplication of effort and spend and this has created a confused landscape for both citizens and government. Existing legacy systems, and the people and resources that support them, are being put under increased and potentially unsustainable pressure to deliver beyond their capability and capacity.

The volume and values of transactions is only set to grow. We are being asked to handle new and complex requirements, through the introduction of new powers and an expectation that Government will provide an increased range of digital services, and deliver them through technology and processes that are not fit for purpose. Based on the data we have been able to correlate Scottish Government is currently processing around 1.5 million inbound transactions and making around 3.9 million payments out. Even with a relatively conservative estimate, this is set to increase to a total of 25 million transactions by the time all powers within the Scotland Act are realised.

The project is now looking to procure a partner to deliver the next (Beta) phase of the project and is holding an online bidder day on Tuesday 31 March 2020, 12:00 – 13:00. On the day we will email signed up participants with a video link in which we will present the aims and objectives of the Beta phase as well as the design, development and strategic context it sits within. Further details on the design of the service, target architecture, organisations we are working with and journey to a live service will also be available. We will then host a Q&A session online, with relevant members of the team on hand to respond. The Q&A window will also be open for one week following the event, after which we will publish all Q&As to everyone who has registered.

If you have not joined our mailing list and wish to take part, please email your name and details of your organisation to: SGPaymentService@gov.scot