Payment security has been climbing its way to the top of contact center priority lists, and since the onset of the pandemic it’s become an even bigger focus for decision makers. Contact Center Agents, many of which are now working from home, need to be able to take payments from customers in a secure, PCI DSS-compliant manner; while protecting both customers’ sensitive data and the company’s reputation.
Virginia-based real estate investment trust AvalonBay had recently upgraded its legacy Pause and Resume system to PCI Pal’s Agent Assist solution, in order to help their agents do just that.
With 15 regional offices and 250+ associates handling customer interactions from the company’s shared-services hub, as well as remotely during the pandemic, PCI Pal Agent Assist was the perfect fit.
The Solution
PCI Pal Agent Assist utilizes DTMF masking and speech recognition technologies in order to offer companies a secure way of handling payments by phone while maintaining PCI DSS compliance.
How does it work? Well, it’s rather simple, actually:
Agent Assist integrates with the call flow at the point of payment, allowing the customer to insert their credit card data securely either by using their phone keypad or through speech.
Since the solution intercepts any keypad tones or numeric speech from the customer’s end and presents card data to the agent as asterisks – it makes sure all sensitive data (PAN and CSV) are maximally protected. In effect, this creates a situation in which the data reach neither the agent nor the environment, significantly reducing the scope of PCI compliance.
Another major plus of PCI Pal’s solution is that it allows the customer and agent to keep interacting by phone throughout the entire payment process, allowing for an improved and smoother customer journey.
The AvalonBay Implementation: A Success Story
While most of AvalonBay’s payments are conducted via their internet portal, a significant portion, 20%, is transacted over the phone. So when Steve Fabian, Senior Vice President of AvalonBay was on the hunt for a new solution to replace the company’s legacy system, he knew it had to be one that covered all bases. After reviewing a few different solutions, Fabian came to the conclusion that PCI Pal Agent Assist was the best fit for the company’s needs.
One of the major benefits that Fabian recognized is providing agents with the ability to continue the conversation with customers while payment information is being input and transacted.
“This enables us to enhance our personalized service and customer experience,” shares Fabian.
Another key benefit is that the solution seamlessly integrates with AvalonBay’s existing unified call management system, CRM and payment systems.
“From a technology standpoint, this means a consistent experience for our agents and no major overhaul of existing processes, which is very important to us,” Fabian notes.
Not to mention the remote working benefits, which became increasingly important as the pandemic progressed.
“PCI Pal Agent Assist has enabled our agents to work remotely seamlessly,” shares Fabian.
“The fact that we’ve been able to continue remotely proves that this is a powerful product“
So far, the feedback that Fabian has received from both agents and managers has been extremely positive.
“Using the system has reduced the overall call time, as there are now fewer steps in the process for our agents to take when handling transactions. Our agents have said they enjoy talking people through the process – it feels more friendly and approachable than before.”
