Following a Request for Quotation (RFQ) on the California State Contracts Register, with responses due Feb. 19, the California Department of Motor Vehicles will continue utilizing Forte Payment Systems, a CSG company, to oversee the e-check verification process. DMV awarded a roughly 16-month contract worth $999,990 to Forte on Feb. 29, the department confirmed to Techwire. The term is March 1 through June 30, 2021.
“This contract continues business as usual. The service provided is for online transactions, not necessarily linked to field office locations and done in phases,” Anita Gore, DMV’s deputy director of communications, told Techwire via email. “This contract was needed to reduce the number of dishonored checks (DCs), and keying errors input by the customer (i.e., If customer keyed in incorrect routing number, the service would catch and provide customer an opportunity to rekey).”
When a new vendor is awarded, Gore said, that typically involves meetings with the department; and vendor and business “design and determine level of effort and timeline, including testing and implementation timeline.”
DMV has deployed Forte’s solution since 2011, a representative said via email. In a news release, the company indicated the state will “leverage Forte Verify,” an account verification solution that offers immediate transaction authorization and can reduce e-check returns by at least 50 percent. DMV mainly uses Forte Verify to tamp down those returned transactions, as it’s capable of identifying fraud but also “keying errors” by consumers.
In a statement, Jeff Thorness, CSG head of payments solutions, said the DMV has taken advantage of its automated clearing house (ACH) technology to boost customer experience.
“As a partner with them for more than a decade, we now look forward to deploying Forte Verify and supporting a seamless and cost-effective payments experience,” Thorness said.
