IVR: How to automate payments for your call center

In telephone-based businesses, the volume of incoming calls throughout the day can be counted in the thousands. Setting up a system to manage calls efficiently and collect payments securely becomes a challenge, and this is where IVR technology comes into play: the Interactive Voice Response system.

What is the IVR System?

Interactive Voice Response is a telephone technology that allows customers to interact with a company’s automated service system, which, through configurable menus, can handle a wide range of calls in real time.

Businesses such as travel agencies, telemarketing companies, or subscription services handle large volumes of calls and require IVR due to the advantages it provides:

• Reduces the workload of operators
• Improves response times
• Prevents human errors in payment processing

How do IVR payments work?

This innovative system may create some uncertainty among users, so we detail below the steps you should follow for proper interaction:

1. Call to the call center

The customer hears an automated menu with different options, depending on the sector. Among these options, they can select the action they want to take.

2. Payment selection

Once the option to pay their amount is selected (for example: “Press 1 to pay your reservation”), the system redirects the call to the secure IVR environment.

3. Data entry

The user enters their card numbers directly via the phone keypad. This way, the agent neither hears nor sees this information.

4. Tokenization

The data is sent to the payment gateway in a secure PCI environment and converted into an encrypted token.

5. Payment confirmation

If the payment is successfully processed, the system validates the operation and notifies the customer (either via a human call or IVR).

Security and regulatory compliance

Interacting with a machine may raise doubts about whether the processes are secure or compliant with regulations. Rest assured, everything is under control:

• Agents do not have access to sensitive card data.
• Data is captured in a secure PCI environment.
• Tokenization is used to make the data indecipherable.
• Compliance with PSD2 and Strong Customer Authentication (SCA).

This guarantees secure payments that comply with European regulations.

Which sectors should integrate IVR payments?

In general, any business that receives a high volume of calls and needs to speed up collections without compromising data security and customer experience can efficiently integrate an IVR payment system. However, the sectors that benefit most from these solutions are:

Travel agencies

Allows charging for reservations, tours, or vacation packages directly over the phone.

Telemarketing and subscription services

Ideal for recurring or one-time subscription payments.

Financial services and debt collection

Facilitates the collection of loans, installments, or pending payments, ensuring security and traceability.

Customer support

Consultancies or technical support companies can streamline payment automation without human intervention.

IVR, a payment solution for your business

How to implement IVR and Pay by Link 

The IVR payment system is an efficient and cost-effective payment solution for most telephone-based businesses, on par with other innovative payment solutions such as Pay by Link. This tool allows sending a payment link via email, SMS, or social media.

Both solutions are available through the PaynoPain online payment platform, enabling simple and fast implementation without complex development.

If you are interested in implementing any of these payment solutions in your business, simply contact our team.