About Encoded
Encoded is a leading Level 1 PCS DSS* compliant and ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 accredited payment solutions provider.
- Reduce costs by automating business processes
- Lower the cost of compliance by removing cardholder data from scope
- Improve customer service by maximising resource efficiency
Background
Achieve more by paying less and use an automated system in your contact centre.
Encoded was founded 20 years ago to offer affordable, pay-as-you-go IVR and payment solutions to small and large businesses. Many contact centres now rely on Encoded’s secure automated payments for their PCI DSS compliance requirements. Today Encoded solutions are trusted by many of the world’s leading brands including Samsung, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, LUSH and Virgin.
This led to the development of a series of sophisticated automated contact centre payment solutions. In 2011 the company went through full PCI DSS accreditation with an external Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) and was awarded the top level of compliance and an Attestation of Compliance (AOC). This level of compliance only applies to organisations that store, process and/or transmit more than 300,000 Visa transactions per year.
Today Encoded is passionate about quality and security. We combine experienced business problem-solving with robust project management processes and technology to provide enterprise solutions to meet our customers’ exact requirements. We operate as long-term consultative partners with a wide spectrum of customers ranging from large multi-billion pound enterprises to more boutique SME businesses in the UK and internationally.
Encoded’s established network of partners means it can provide flexible cloud-based or customer premises equipment (CPE) solutions at competitive prices. The Encoded pricing model means customers are only charged for successful transactions. Therefore we stay close to ensure the service performs as perfectly as possible.
Why Encoded?
Encoded is a Level 1 PCI DSS accredited supplier – which means that contact centres and their customers can rely on Encoded’s technology with absolute confidence.
Approach
When working with customers to develop secure interactive contact centre payment solutions, Encoded implements the following key stages of engagement to optimise programme success:
1 - Pre and post-programme briefings
2 - Allocation of Project Manager and Account Manager
3 - Designing and developing optimum solutions
4 - Building secure, reliable and flexible software
5 - Implementation, training and support
6 - Measuring customer experience
- IVR Phone Payments
- Virtual Terminal Payments
- Agent Assisted Card Payments
- Online Payments
- Tokenisation and Recurring Payments
The Faces Behind the Names
Working for CX success.
Robert Crutchington
Robert Crutchington was one of the founders of Encoded and today is responsible for business strategy, direction and growth of the company. A published author on the subject of card data security he is passionate about the payments industry.
Rob has a longstanding knowledge of communication technology having begun his career as a system engineer specialising in ATM protocols combining audio, data and video. He is considered one of the premier voices in the world of payments.
His love of technology never wanes and started with programming games in his early teens. He is an essential part of Encoded’s and our customers’ success.
Mike spent most of his career in the automotive industry and believes that exceptional customer service is the route to business success. He is committed to ensuring a happy team and happy customers at Encoded.
Philosophy
At Encoded we help our customers improve customer service, increase sales and reduce costs by making a real difference and delivering the right payment solutions to meet customer requirements.
Encoded wants to change the way contact centres look at secure interactive payment solutions. The payment process should enhance customer experience by illustrating respect and commitment by listening to customer needs and feedback. Encoded solutions are designed to improve customer service and increase sales by providing easy to use, friendly and secure automated payment options.
Our approach recognises the power of using experienced, respected consultants, programmers, designers, developers and project managers to deliver Encoded solutions.
- Secure PCI DSS compliant card payments
- Virtual Terminal Payments
- Agent Assisted Card Payments
- Online payments
- Self-Service recurring payments
- IVR payments
- Interactive Voice payments
- Secure payment solutions
- Contact Centre Payment Solutions
- Automated Payment Solutions
- Recurring payments
- Voice Recognition Secure Payments
- PCI payments
- PCI DSS card payments
Partners
Encoded’s solutions combine globally-deployed and proven technology with a bespoke framework, using Encoded’s extensive technical experience to guarantee project success.
Network
Encoded’s three UK based data centres are connected via dedicated 100mb leased lines to form a reliable VoIP cloud with no single point of failure.
Encoded’s IVR infrastructure has been designed and built in-house and is truly unique in terms of functionality and reliability. Encoded manufactures both the hardware and software, making us the perfect partner for scalability offering both hosted and on-site (CPE) deployments of Encoded’s solutions.
Need help?
Payment solutions for contact centres
Our suite of payment solutions for contact centres include Gateway Services, IVR, Agent Assisted Payments with Fraud Prevention Platform, eCommerce Payments and SMS PayByLink.
IVR Payments
Interactive Voice Response Payments (IVR Payments) is a method that allows callers to enter their card data via touch tones. This self-service process enables debit and credit card payments to be handled 24/7.
PayByLink
Agent Assisted Payments
eCommerce Payments
Gateway Services
Download our guides
Secure Contact Centre Payments brochure
What our customers say about us
“We needed to offer our members both fast and secure Payment Card Industry Data, Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliant payment methods and advanced e-commerce capabilities using automated technology. Encoded had done their homework and cared about our members and our business, even suggesting additional creative ways to use Encoded technology. From the outset, it was clear they were exploring new ideas to help us work even smarter.”
Karen Coates, Chief Operations Officer, The Wine Society
“We handle hundreds of thousands of calls every year that demand a broad knowledge of financial and legal matters as well as general property maintenance issues. Encoded presented a sound proposal that promised to deliver round-the-clock efficiencies in a cost effective package. The final overall approach and sophisticated IVR technology proved to be the perfect answer to our business problems.”
Tracey McCabe, Head of Customer Service, First Port Property Management
“We decided to refresh the online experience in response to customer demand and changes in the industry. It was a moment of clarity – Encoded was already handling our secure payments with data being fed into our billing system. We needed to create a front-end link so that customers could access this information themselves, rather than relying on speaking to an agent every time they wanted to make a payment or a change to their account details.”
Business Optimisation Manager,
Severn Trent Water
“One of the key reasons for choosing Encoded was to improve the team’s experience of managing large scale migrations from legacy payment systems. With Encoded’s in-depth knowledge of data security, PCI DSS compliance and the latest payment regulations, JT had confidence that the integration would be carried out within the project timescales and to budget.”
Tim Peach, Finance Operations Manager, Jersey Telecom
“From the outset, it was evident that Encoded grasped our requirements for an easy to deploy, fully transparent solution that could integrate seamlessly with our own IT systems. What is more, Encoded offered us a solid and highly scalable platform that promised to drive efficiencies whilst delivering the personal touch to those callers who needed it most.”
Collections and Recovery Department, One Savings Bank
“Along with the simplicity and highly configurable nature of Encoded’s solution, we were impressed by everyone’s professional, can-do attitude backed up by excellent support. Encoded offered a truly scalable solution that could grow with our business. In particular we trusted Encoded to support new ventures such as flexecash® which has already been adopted by a number of high street retailers.”
June Potts, Head of Customer Contact, Park Group
“Tens of thousands of calls relating to payment and meter reads are handled by sophisticated technology provided by Encoded. Encoded’s solutions have supported our business from day one, having been selected from a shortlist of four vendors for its ease of use, speedy implementation and cost-efficiency.”
Shell Energy
“Today, around 10% of all our sales are made using credit or debit card transactions. Our job is to make it easy for customers to pay for services swiftly and securely. Encoded listened carefully to our requirements, made sensible recommendations along the way and even adapted the technology to suit us. The whole experience ran smoothly and we were impressed by their level of knowledge and understanding of our business.”
Peter Doyle, Risk Manager,
Health-on-line
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Speak to the team
To discover how our secure payment solutions can free up your contact centre agents' time allowing them to focus on customer service, more complex enquiries and revenue-generating activities.