While the move to digital channels has certainly paved the way for a wider range of transactions, call centre payments continue to make up a large percentage of sales for many businesses.

If your business relies on call centres for payments, it is essential that you have everything in place to ensure that payments can be made securely through this channel. Over and above having the right tools in place, there are also many other factors to consider when it comes to call centre payments.

One of the most important factors is security compliance. When compliance is lacking, there is a far greater chance of numerous problems ranging from fraud, all the way to security breaches. Maintaining compliance with PCI DSS standards is the best way to be sure that your call centre is able to manage payments in a way that is fully transparent, legal, and secure.

This can be a frustrating and confusing process for many businesses – especially within the often complex digital marketing field that deals with large volumes of data and multiple technology channels. Call centre agent training and proficiency add even more to the challenge, with a high turnover rate often seen in this sector.

To help you better understand PCI DSS compliance and find out how to manage call centre payments securely, we have put together a guide that outlines common questions and best practices for contact centre payment security.

Call Centre Payments and Compliance

To provide customers with complete peace of mind and be sure that you are able to perform transactions through your contact centre, it is first important to be compliant. Non-compliance can result not only in a higher risk of fraud and other dangers – it can also affect your bottom line if payments are not done according to internationally-recognised standards. Keep reading to find out more about how you can ensure compliant call centre payments.

‍What is PCI compliance?

‍PCI DSS, which is short for the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard and usually referred to as PCI, is a global standard that deals with security for businesses that accept, store, transmit or process credit card details. PCI was developed by the PCI Security Standards Council that was founded by Visa, MasterCard, Amex, Discover, and JCB in 2006. Under this standard, all such businesses need to comply with guidelines that maintain the most secure environment for credit card payments.

‍Do all businesses need to be PCI compliant?

‍If your business does credit card payments, you will need to be PCI compliant. This applies whether most of your payments are done online or through your contact centre. If you do not have PCI compliance, your credit card service can be cancelled at any time by your merchant provider. If this happens, you will be unable to accept payments done by credit card. Needless to say, this could be devastating for any business that conducts sales online or through call centres.

‍What is the best way to ensure PCI compliance?

‍To be PCI compliant, you will need to implement PCI standards across all levels of your business. Compliance is then reported to your financial institution or payment card provider. Although it can be an expensive, complicated, and time-consuming process, compliance is the only way to be sure that payments are done securely.In a typical call centre, a variety of tools are used, from admin systems to CRM systems, call recording systems and telephone systems.

Many phone systems use VoIP, with an internal network that connects to other systems used within the business. To be compliant, this entire environment needs to meet compliance standards. An effective way to manage your compliance and ensure that your call centre payments are always done securely is to consider solutions such as SecurePay, which is designed to provide a high level of security for all online payments.

‍How does PCI DSS compliance work?

‍PCI comprises a set of twelve requirements that include network security, data protection, access control, data security, monitoring, and various other requirements to keep data secure. These requirements aim to protect data by organisations that process, store or transmit sensitive information such as credit card details or personal information. Regular audits are done to enforce compliance, with fines being issued in the event of non-compliance. If you are a company that accepts credit card payments, you are effectively subject to the requirements of PCI, whether payments are done online or through your call centre. Businesses that conduct call centre payments need to:

• Show clear evidence of compliance for all parts of the call centre that handles any credit card information.
• Make sure that all sensitive data is not stored in any way (including call centre recordings).
• Carefully check call centre agents and do background checks for all agents.
• Be sure that data is kept securely within the call centre, with no mobile phones or pen and paper used in the centre.

How SecurePay Helps You Manage Call Centre Payments

Needless to say, the process of PCI compliance can make call centre payments a complicated procedure. SecurePay offers a way to reduce compliance costs, boost efficiency, and improve sale closures for credit card payments done through call centres. This solution reduces the risks often associated with telephone payments and makes it easier for call centres to collect sensitive information such as credit card details in the most secure, compliant way possible.

SecurePay uses NI-USSD technology and helps to simplify the compliance process significantly. Thanks to its user-friendly web interface, contact centre agents are able to send payment widgets directly to customer mobile devices. This allows customers to complete transactions without the risk of agents losing the call. If you are looking for a way to keep your phone payments secure, here's how SecurePay can help your business.

‍A secure way to conduct payments.As part of Grapevine's Business Support Services, SecurePay is a tool that is designed to streamline the payment process, reducing risks and minimising lost costs. Using this system, contact centre agents can conduct phone payments in a compliant, secure way through NI-USSD technology, staying on the line throughout transactions.

‍An effective way to ensure compliance. NI-USSD technology helps to prevent call centre agents from accessing sensitive data. SecurePay makes this process as simple as possible, maintaining regulations while also reducing wasted time, effort and costs. It helps remove the technical challenges often associated with PCI compliance and also shortens call times for agents. This, in turn, provides a far better customer experience.

To learn more about SecurePay and how it helps to improve call centre payments, contact Grapevine today to request a demo.