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Agent Assisted Payments

Agent Assisted Payments enable your contact centre agents to process card payments without being exposed to sensitive card data.

Business benefits include:

De-scope your compliance project by over 50%
Help achieve full PCI DSS SAQ C-VT certification
Secure your contact centre against card data theft

Download our Agent Assisted Payments PDF

OVERVIEW

Our Agent Assisted Payment solution

Customers use their telephone’s touch-tone keypad to tap in their card details while remaining in conversation with the agent throughout the transaction.

Encoded’s solution bridges the gap between providing personalised customer service and enhancing security, while reducing the often-heavy financial costs of PCI DSS compliance.

The payment process begins when the card holder is ready to make a payment. The agent and customer remain connected while the card holder enters their card details using their phone keypad. During this, the contact centre agent is provided with real-time on-screen feedback but is protected from viewing any sensitive card details helping to de-scope for PCI DSS purposes (take a look at our Ultimate Guide to Agent Assisted Payments for 2023).

De-scope your contact centre for PCI DSS compliance purposes

Implementing Agent Assisted Payments significantly reduces the time, cost and resources required to complete PCI DSS, SAQ C-VT (3.2.1v). In fact, of the controls covered in version 3.2.1 of the standard this payment method places the majority out of scope and 30% of the remaining controls are heavily reduced.

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.

Download our PCI DSS Certificate

PCI SAQ C-VT De-scope with Assisted Payments

This pie chart illustrates that over 50% of the PCI SAQ C-VT is completely removed when using Agent Assisted Payments.

Compliance with PCI DSS should always be seen in the wider context of an information security framework, which may also take into account other industry-specific regulations. There is a balance to be found between compliance with various regulations, including PCI DSS and each company’s unique processes and internal guidelines. It’s important to remember that PCI compliance isn’t a once-a-year box-ticking exercise, but should be inherent in the security DNA of every organisation and contact centre which accepts card payments.

Technology or payment solutions in themselves cannot be PCI DSS compliant as compliance is at a company level and is only complete when an organisation has considered its own PCI status and that of its third-party service providers. Implementing Encoded Agent Assisted Payments significantly reduces the time, cost and resource required to complete PCI DSS Self-Assessment Questionnaires (SAQs) for a company to become PCI compliant.

Premium Agent Assisted Payments – Tokenisation

Tokenisation is the process of storing card data for future payments as a token. Tokenisation can allow contact centres to be outside PCI DSS scope, as no real cardholder data enters the environment and therefore makes it a less attractive target for data hacking. Meanwhile, returning customers are not required to enter card details multiple times improving the customer experience (CX).

Download our guide to Agent Assisted Payments

The product PDF offers the reader an insight into how Encoded’s Payment service works and its ease of implementation.

Download guide

Features and benefits

What are the Key Features of Assisted Payments?

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Reduces the financial and operation costs of PCI DSS compliance and other security compliance programs

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is the creation of five of the largest payment card providers: VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and JCB International, which have named themselves the PCI Security Standard Council (PCI SSC). Using this payment method reduces the time, cost and resource required to complete PCI DSS Self-Assessment Questionnaires.

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Improved Customer Experience (CX)

Agent Assisted Payments has a powerful role to play in a world where the customer experience or CX is driving the corporate agenda. Encoded payment solutions mean that organisations can streamline their critical payment processes by integrating customer relationship management CRM and other finance, and customer related critical systems.

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Requires minimal disruption to your current contact centre operation

Encoded solutions are carrier, phone system and customer relationship management (CRM) agnostic, which means they can be integrated into most existing system.

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Demonstrates commitment to keeping your customers’ details secure

Customers need to feel their card details are safe and keeping them outside the contact centre and screened from agents helps to enforce this message.

Key benefits of Agent Assisted Payments

Reduces the financial and operational costs of PCI DSS compliance and other security compliance programs

Requires minimal disruption to your current contact centre operation

Demonstrates your commitment to your customer’s security

Includes premium features as standard; such as real-time verification of card details, card tokenisation and tight integration with existing systems

why us

Why Encoded?

Encoded’s system can interface with an organisation’s accounting and other critical business systems to ensure agents always have the latest information to deliver a joined up and exceptional customer experience (CX).

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.

Re-Tell Recorders compatible

Red Box Recorders compatible

FAQ’s

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Agent Assisted Payments?

Agent Assisted Payments are where contact centre agents remain in conversation with a customer while processing card payments, via a touch-tone keypad. When the caller enters their card details DTMF tones are used to mask them but they are heard by Encoded’s payment server. Therefore, contact centres can reduce their financial and operational cost of PCI DSS compliance and other security compliance programs.

How secure assisted payments work

The Encoded process starts when the card holder is ready to make a payment. The payment form is pre-populated with essential account information such as reference/account number and balance amount. Then the agent “conferences in” Encoded’s payment server using their telephone. The card data is received, checked and the card issuing Bank returns an Authorisation code. The payment result is supplied to the agent in real-time and systems are automatically updated.

PCI-DSS and agent assisted payments

Agent Assisted payments are a way of taking payments which allow contact centre agents to stay in conversation with customers while processing credit/debit card details and be screened from sensitive data. During this process, contact centre agents are provided with real-time on-screen feedback, but are importantly protected from viewing any sensitive card details. Implementing Encoded Agent Assisted Payments significantly reduces the time, cost and resource required to complete PCI DSS, SAQ C-VT (3.2.1v).

How to de-scope with agent assisted payments

Card holders can continue to talk to agents through out the payment process without agents being exposed to sensitive card data. Implementing the Encoded solution significantly reduces the time, cost and resource required to complete PCI DSS, SAQ C-VT compliance. In fact, of the controls covered in version 3.2.1 of the standard, agent assisted payments places 51% completely out of scope and 30% of the remaining controls are heavily reduced. This figure assumes that VoIP is used, if not then that figure is reduced further to 58.9% for PCI SAQ C-VT de-scoping.

Affordable PCI DSS compliance

Encoded’s Agent Assisted Payments solution bridges the gap between personalised customer service and enhancing security, whilst reducing the often-heavy financial costs of PCI DSS compliance. Customers use their touch-tone keypad to enter their card details while staying connected to the contact centre agent throughout the payment process. No cardholder data enters the contact centre therefore reducing compliance requirements.

How to make payments accessible for all

Many disabled and elderly consumers may feel embarrassed when they cannot use traditional automated payment systems and prefer the human touch when it comes to payments. Encoded’s virtual terminal payments enable disabled or elderly customers to make assisted payments where the agent logs into a secure virtual terminal interface online to directly input card details.

Pause and resume recording for Agent Assisted Payments

For those contact centres required to record calls for compliance reasons Encoded uses the pause and resume method of call recording. The ContactBabel Decision-Maker’s Guide 2019-20 survey of UK contact centres showed that pause and resume recording (73%) with improving processes and training (64%) were by far the main methods used to reduce card fraud.

Premium Agent Assisted Payments – Tokenisation

For multiple payments, recurring payments or returning customers, agent assisted payments linked to tokenisation enhances the customer experience. Tokenisation is the process of securely storing card data for future use as a token. Tokenisation can allow contact centres to be outside PCI DSS scope, as no real cardholder data enters the environment and makes it a less attractive target for data hacking and stealing data. Meanwhile, returning customers are not required to enter card details over and over again.

Can agents talk to customers when taking assisted payments?

Contact centre agents can continue to talk to the card holder throughout the entire payment process. The card holder enters their card details into their phone using their keypad. At this point the DTMF tones are heard by Encoded’s Payment server, however, the agent can speak to the customer as required.

How do agent assisted payments integrate with other systems?

Encoded solutions are carrier, phone system and customer relationship management (CRM) agnostic, which means they can be integrated into most existing systems. Available as an API to allow for full integration or accessible with via a web browser any deployment is possible. It also means real-time reconciliation of payments is achievable. As the result of being directly integrated with the client’s database, via a secure web service, payment results are immediately available to agents.

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SERVICES

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.

Learn more

PayByLink

Designed for large corporates, Encoded’s PayByLink service offers a fast, hassle-free method of sending a one-time-use short code link to a customer’s phone or email address which can then be used to open a simple payment form.

Learn more

Agent Assisted Payments

Agent Assisted Payments enable your contact centre agents to process card payments without being exposed to sensitive card data. Customers use their telephone’s touch-tone keypad to tap in their card details while remaining in conversation with the agent throughout the transaction.

Learn more

eCommerce Payments

Enabling your customers to securely transact through your website. Encoded eCommerce Payments provide contact centre customers with secure checkout options online and on the go. Encoded creates online pages to match a company’s individual site designs, to keep the customer experience (CX) as seamless and secure as possible.

Learn more

Gateway Services

A Gateway is the bridge between merchants, acquirers and banks, whatever the payment channel. A top priority for every business is cash flow. This means ensuring that payments are processed effectively and ideally first time around.

Learn more

SMS Chat

SMS is widely accepted as a non-intrusive, convenient method of communication. Encoded offers a feature rich, highly secure customer engagement messaging solution. As well as SMS and Voice, Encoded’s solution also integrates with many other messaging services such as Facebook messenger.

Learn more

RESOURCES

Download our guides

Secure Contact Centre Payments brochure

Download guide

Ultimate guide to IVR Payments for 2023

Download guide

PCI Compliance & Card Decision Maker’s Guide

Download guide

WHAT THEY SAY

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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Fraud Prevention v Customer Experience – Getting the Balance Right in Contact Centres

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Agent Assisted Payments