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\nAccording to UK Finance, card payments accounted for half<\/a> (51%) of all payments in the UK in 2019 while consumer use of credit cards rose by 7% to 3.3 billion payments over the same period.\u00a0 Fortunately, these trends in payment habits have proved invaluable during lockdown when record numbers of consumers rely on debit or credit cards to pay for essential shopping.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the COVID-19 health crisis has also highlighted the darker side of human nature with credit card fraud surging 35%<\/a> and reports that \u00a34.6 million has already been lost to coronavirus-related scams<\/a> since lockdown started.<\/p>\n If these alarming statistics are anything to go by, widespread consumer fears about the vulnerability of sensitive card data are fell-founded.\u00a0 Contact centres should take charge now, reassuring customers that it\u2019s safe to make card payments by getting back to basics and embracing the functionality of secure Agent Assisted Payment solutions.<\/p>\n Back to basics with PCI DSS<\/strong><\/p>\n Even though the first version of PCI DSS was introduced a long time ago (December 2004) the international standards framework still matters for three simple reasons:<\/p>\n Introduce clever technology behind the scenes<\/strong><\/p>\n Once re-acquainted with the importance of PCI DSS, why not introduce technology that enables PCI DSS compliance?\u00a0 The latest Agent Assisted Payments allow contact centre agents to process card payments without being exposed to sensitive card data.\u00a0 After the customer has used their telephone\u2019s touch-tone keypad to tap in their card details, all an agent sees on their screen is whether the payment has been approved or declined.<\/p>\n Look for a partner who is Level 1 PCI DSS accredited, which means you and your customers can rely on their technology with absolute confidence.\u00a0 They should offer Agent Assisted Payment solutions that are carrier, phone and CRM system agnostic so they integrate seamlessly with your existing contact centre infrastructure to enable real-time reconciliation of payments, maintain \u2018business as usual\u2019 contact centre operations, even when working remotely and deliver a joined up and exceptional customer experience (CX).<\/p>\n Three ways to use Agent Assisted Payments:<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. De-scope your contact centre –\u00a0<\/strong>for PCI DSS compliance purposes.\u00a0 Implementing 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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n 2. Offer Tokenisation \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0for multiple payments, recurring payments or returning customers, Agent Assisted Payments linked to tokenisation enhance CX.\u00a0 Tokenisation is the innovative process that allows 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.<\/p>\n 3. Educate customers about the value of PCI DSS \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>the chances are that most customers will have heard about Verified by Visa, 3D Secure or MasterCard SecureCode but draw a blank at PCI DSS.\u00a0 The beauty of Agent Assisted Payments is that contact centre agents can continue to talk to the card holder throughout the entire payment process.\u00a0 This gives them the opportunity to talk about the important steps their organisation is taking to keep customers\u2019 card details safe.\u00a0 They can also introduce new \u2018accessible for all\u2019 technologies such as virtual terminal payments specifically designed for disabled or elderly customers who may feel embarrassed when they cannot use traditional automated payment systems and prefer the human touch.<\/p>\n Now is the time to renew your acquaintance with PCI DSS and use Agent Assisted Payments to drive all-round compliance.\u00a0 Learn how to bridge the gap between providing personalised CX and enhanced security, while significantly reducing the time, cost and resource required to comply with stringent PCI DSS rules.\u00a0 Visit\u00a0www.encoded.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n About the Author<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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![\"Rob](\"https:\/\/www.customerservicemanager.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Rob-Crutchington-3.jpg\")
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).<\/p>\n