Interactive Voice Response Payments (IVR Payments) is a payment method that allows callers to enter their card data via touch tones. It enables customer self-service to:

• make 24/7 payments without any agent involvement
• provide a secure ID to find information
• make payments from anywhere at any time using a telephone.

It is important to identify a customer using IVR payments and the first place to start is a telephone number. Using a customer’s telephone number for IVR payments authentication is a speedy method of Identification & Verification (ID&V) and improves the customer experience.

The second method of authentication is a customer ID number (i.e. invoice or customer reference), entered using touch tones on the telephone into the IVR payments system prior to taking their payment.

The best IVR payment solution aligns with your business systems to give customers a smooth transaction process. IVR payments can be integrated with voice systems so an agent can transfer the customer to the IVR payment once an order has been taken. This allows agents to deal with more customers, spend less time on taking payments and adds value to the customer experience.

IVR payments are perfect for companies which experience seasonal spikes in calls, which would normally involve hiring extra temporary staff or paying costly overtime.

IVR costs five times less than a telephone call – with the right design and technology IVR can produce significant savings. Research from ContactBabel revealed that the average cost of a telephony IVR self-service session is 65p, compared to the cost of a live service telephone call where the mean average was £3.55.

Some IVR solution providers only charge for successfully processed transactions, which keeps prices transparent. It rewards both the third-party provider and its customers on success, keeping an active working relationship focused on service improvements.

Most business telephone systems can route calls to IVR payments using recorded voice prompts and avoiding connection with a live agent. Integration with your other business systems means that IVR payments can be configured to reconcile automatically with accounting and other systems.

IVR payment integration is made possible with a payment gateway which integrates with most providers, carriers, telephony systems and CRM systems to provide total flexibility for secure omnichannel payments. Integration with other critical systems ensures agents can access the latest information for a joined-up customer experience.

IVR payments are far more secure than other traditional methods, which sometimes may include agents noting down credit or debit card details manually. Choosing a cloud IVR service payment solution ensures everything is fully automated and confidential – client data is stored within a secure cloud infrastructure.

Using IVR to accept payments from a trusted third party provider is also an easy way to achieve PCI DSS.

An IVR solution automates many time-consuming processes, freeing up agents to give them more time to spend up-selling and cross-selling, or managing complex customer care and loyalty work, which means better use of critical talent and resources.

IVR card payments are far more secure than the traditional method of agents noting down credit or debit card payment details manually. Plus, with a PCI DSS approved cloud-based system, confidential client data is stored centrally and securely.

With IVR systems can be available 24x7x365 without any agent involvement. Customers can serve themselves using IVR to find the information they need and process payments at any time and from anywhere.

Integrating your IVR systems with accounting and other critical business systems ensures agents always have the latest information to deliver a joined-up customer experience.

IVR can help to free agents from boring and repetitive work, reduce staff attrition and improve staff morale. Automated systems allow agents to spend time providing value added services, ensuring better use of their skills, while all the time improving the customer experience (CX).

“We have saved around 46 agent hours every month based on our current call volumes, an improvement that has vastly boosted our productivity.”
Fliss Dale, Director of Collections and Recovery at Exact

Typically IVR card payments are far more secure than the traditional manual handling of customer data. Choosing a cloud IVR solution from a PCI DSS approved provider means that confidential client data is stored securely, taking IVR payments out of scope for PCI DSS requirements.

“At Virgin Holidays, we take client confidentially very seriously and customers can trust us to keep their data safe when paying for tickets, weekend breaks or all-inclusive holidays, online or over the phone. That is why we invested in the latest Interactive Voice Response (IVR) payment solutions from Encoded to give our team and our customers complete peace of mind.”
Jessica Baker, Operations Analyst, Virgin Holidays

“Dramatic improvements in efficiency and call flow have boosted agent morale and tangibly enhanced the overall customer experience”
Matthew Cook, Head of Customer Support, Bespoke and Property Services, First Port

IVR means your customer service is available 24x7x365, without any agent involvement. Customers can self-serve and make payments at any time and from anywhere.

“Using Encoded’s innovative technology means we are now open 24 hours a day, giving consumers the round-the-clock service they need to fit in with their busy lifestyles. They can make payments anytime, from anywhere quickly and securely. Last year, over 12,000 IVR payment calls were handled successfully, proof that the service is gaining rapid popularity with our customers.”
Julie Hall, Billing and Income Manager, Anglian Water

With your IVR solution connect to your finance and other critical business systems, your agents always have the latest information to deliver a joined-up customer experience.

“As a very seasonal business, our call volumes fluctuate wildly especially during peak times like Christmas when our calls can rise dramatically from approximately 1,000 to 5,000 per day. Encoded helps to deliver the high level of personal attention our agents deserve by taking care of straightforward payment calls and balance enquiries 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”
June Potts, Head of Customer Contact, Appreciate Group plc

• Customers expect a speedy check-out service without their card details falling into the wrong hands. The latest IVR payment solutions allow contact centre users to enter their debit or credit card data via touch tones any time of day or night, quickly and securely.
• When looking for new technology, rather than choose a vanilla software vendor which may sell you a solution and leave you to it, consider a partner that will work with you throughout the compliance process. Look for a vendor happy to advise and educate while offering solutions that will help your contact centre to comply with the latest PCI DSS or GDPR legislation and the newly introduced Payment Services Directive (PSD2).
• Choose an IVR payment solution that can authenticate callers prior to taking payments either via a unique number like an invoice or customer reference. Then, shortlist those that integrate easily with in-house telephony, accounting and CRM systems. This means agents can deal with more customers and spend less time on taking payments. While customers feel secure in the knowledge that their card details are protected.

• An automated method of payment is perfect for companies which experience seasonal spikes in calls, normally requiring temporary staff of costly overtime. How a provider charges for successfully processed transactions is also important in your selection.
• There are also new advances in IVR, which include text-to-speech options for multiple languages. The choices mean that modern IVR solutions give customers the opportunity to choose between self-service and talking to a live agent. Either way, you can reduce your costs and enhance customer service.

• IVR payments have grown in popularity and importance as a result of the recent COVID-19 pandemic and an increase in the number of people working from home and MOTO (mail order/telephone order payments).
• They can work for both customers and remote-workers as they are accessible from anywhere whether in the office, at home, across time-zones, providers, carriers and telephony systems. Using one single solution, organisations can streamline their critical payment processes by centralising their IVR payments across multiple contact centres and link to multiple CRM systems to enhance customer service.

Measuring the right metrics allows adjustments and changes to be made if the required results are not being achieved:

Successful transactions: for example, the number of customers who begin and complete a self-service transaction without live-agent assistance. When designed well, IVR self-service payments can result in up to 90% of relevant calls being dealt with automatically representing a massive cost saving, an improvement in customer service and a boost for the company’s reputation with its customer.

IVR abandonment rates: usually the most common metric, this reflects the number of customers that that drop out, prior to choosing an option in the IVR system. This number should be very low because customers tend to have the patience to navigate the system in the first instance before giving up. Typically customers do not drop out but instead transfer or “zero-out” to a live agent.

Transfer or Zero-Out rates: this is where a customer will “select zero to speak to an agent”. According to ContactBabel research carried out in 2015, the mean zero-out rate is 18%, however, with the correct set-up of IVR payment systems can reduce this number.

It’s vital to measure and report on the right metrics. Here’s a few questions to consider:

• What are the right key performance indicators (KPI’s)?
• What has your previous experience been?
• How can IVR payments help with PCI DSS* compliance?

There are many benefits of IVR payments. Implemented well, IVR solutions can help businesses deal with high call volumes, reduce cost and improve customer service.

Using an automated secure payment system in your contact centre.helps you to achieve more by paying less. Accepting credit and debit cards via IVR is a cost effective and secure way of taking payments. It allows customers to make payments quickly and accurately while reducing agent transaction time and improving security both for you and your customers.

Business hours can be extended to provide a round-the-clock response, every day of the year, and seasonal spikes can be managed to take payments which would normally require temporary staff or costly overtime. Seamless integration with existing systems enables personlaised service and can free agent time to allow them to focus on more productive services to add value to customer experience.

Encoded is a leading Payment Service Provider and pioneer of new and innovative secure payment solutions for contact centres. Encoded offers a range of card payment solutions designed to help organisations comply with PCI DSS, GDPR and the newly introduced Payment Services Directive (PSD2).

Encoded’s solutions are trusted by many of the world’s leading brands including, Samsung, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Müller and Virgin, as well as a host of UK utility companies such as Green Star Energy, Severn Trent Water and Anglian Water.

Omni-channel solutions include:

• Agent Assisted Card Payments
• E-Commerce payments
• IVR Payments
• Mobile Apps
• PayByLink Mobile Payments
• Virtual Terminal Payments