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.
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.
This pie chart illustrates that over 50% of the PCI SAQ C-VT is completely removed when using Agent Assisted 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Want to find out more?
Contact us now to learn more about how Encoded can improve your business efficiency.
Call us on 01293 229 700.
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.
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
Want to find out more?
Contact us now to learn more about how Encoded can improve your business efficiency.
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The product PDF offers the reader an insight into Agent Assisted Payments and its ease of implementation.
Encoded's Payment Products
All of Encoded's payment services work cooperatively. Sharing stored card details between solutions, enabling card holders to use the service of their choice without having to re-enter card data.
IVR Payments
PayByLink
Agent Assisted
eComm Payments
Mobile App
SMS Chat
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About Encoded
Encoded is a leading PCI DSS compliant provider of secure interactive voice response payment solutions. Encoded’s products are designed to fulfil three key objectives; Reduce costs by automated business processes, Increase sales by offering new fulfilment channels, Improve customer service by maximising resource efficiency.
Contact Encoded
Head Office:
Encoded Ltd
Spectrum House
Beehive Ring Road
Gatwick
West Sussex
RH6 0LG.
Tel: 01293 229 700
Email: sales@encoded.co.uk
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