5 Reasons To Setup IVR Payment For Your Business

With the IVR payment system, you secure voice payment solutions that significantly increase customer security and reduce the workload on call center agents.

Advancements in technology have given rise to the integration of modern payment gateway technologies that allow credit card and ACH (eCheck) transactions to be accepted and processed using the IVR systems. 

With this integration, businesses can accept receivables in an automated fashion without human interaction. Almost any company that takes payments can benefit from a secure IVR automated phone payment system.

What is an IVR Payment?

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) payment is an automated technology that allows a business to set up a payment method for its services or products and customer servicing of bills through the IVR service. It replaces human interaction within call centers.

The conventional IVR systems offer voice prompts that route callers to live customer service agents for solutions, requiring a lot of staff relative to the call traffic. 

With the IVR payment system, you provide callers with secure voice payment solutions that significantly reduce the workload on call center agents while potentially increasing cash flow.

Lately, there has been an increase in the need for contactless payment due to fears over the COVID-19 pandemic. This spike has fuelled many businesses to adopt card payments as the best option for finalizing transactions with customers.

38% of consumers now see contactless as a ‘basic need’ feature of payments, up from 30% a year ago. In 2019, 41% of customers said they didn’t need contactless payment. Thes number has fallen to 33% as of March 2020.

60% of consumers not currently using self-service technology would like to engage with technology over humans. A study also found that 86% want to purchase health and beauty products using unattended technology.

As the need for contactless payment increases and customer demand for secure, self-services, with the increasing numbers of staff working from home, it’s easy to see why IVR payments are the toast of contactless payments.

How does IVR Payment work?

• When a customer initiates a transaction, your IVR system would carry out identification and verification (ID&V) and pass the call to a payment gateway.
• The payment gateway will interact with your IVR service to reconcile all transaction data.
• The contact center software provider manages the IVR flow and integrations with your required payment provider and CRM/customer database where required.
• Once a customer enters their card details, it is captured using the DTMF/keypad tones.
• The transaction is processed via an integration with your payment provider. 
• The payment gateway reconciles the result back to your contact center software, allowing you to complete any actions and retain a record of all transactions.

What are the benefits of IVR payments?

• Secure self-service payments 
• Reduced processing costs
• Integration and flexibility
• 24/7 Payments
• Customer Loyalty

Secure self-service payments 

Security is a top concern for customers, and they would expect that to be matched with convenience without their details falling into the wrong hands. 

IVR payment solutions allow contact center users to enter their debit or credit card data via DTMF/keypad tones anytime, quickly, and securely. 

When deciding to implement this service, it is crucial to look for a contact center provider that will work with you throughout the compliance process to avoid infringements.

Your IVR payment solution should authenticate callers before taking payments via a unique number like an invoice or customer reference. It should also integrate easily with in-house telephony, accounting, and CRM systems. 

These features allow your agents to deal with more customers and spend less time taking payments while guaranteeing customers’ security, knowing that their card details are safe.

Reduced processing costs

According to ContactBabel, the average call into a contact center costs an organization about $5. In comparison, an IVR payment can be just a matter of pennies. 

An IVR payment system is the recommended option for companies that experience seasonal spikes in calls. It eliminates the need for hiring temporary staff that may not be needed afterward, thereby incurring costs.

Integration and flexibility

In a world where the pandemic has disrupted business operations, IVR payments have grown in popularity and importance. 

Customers and remote workers can access this service anywhere, whether in the office, at home, across time zones, providers, carriers, and telephony systems. 

Businesses can streamline payment processes by centralizing their IVR payments across multiple contact centers while linking to numerous CRM systems to enhance customer service.

24/7 Payments

Accepting payments 24/7 provides your customers convenience and reduces the time your staff spends on responding to questions that are sometimes redundant.

Customer Loyalty

Your IVR system could be an excellent foundation for setting up a customer loyalty program. 

A loyalty program can be set up to reward customers that are prompt on payments. This allows your business to engage and create a better relationship with your customers.

Your IVR payment service can be combined with simple email or text notification reminders, which can likely offer customers extra motivation to acquire a service or product. 

Other benefits include

• Automated phone payments offer another payment option for your customers based on their convenience.
• It increases customer satisfaction.
• It reduces waiting time for customers.
• It ensures less use of organizational staff hours.
• It makes available multiple languages for a diverse customer base.

Does your business have an IVR payment option? Speak to an expert. Let’s get you started!

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