Semafone Selected by Leading Online Real Estate Marketplace to Secure Phone Payments

PRESS RELEASE: Semafone, a provider of secure payment software for contact centres announced that it has landed a deal with a leading, U.S.-based online real estate market database. Semafone’s solution will secure this rapidly growing company’s phone payments by shielding card numbers from Customer Service Representatives (CSRs), simplifying Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance and reducing scope.

It will also help this organisation maintain the highest level of customer service and provide a positive user experience for CSRs. The company plans to implement Semafone’s technology in eight call centres with more than 400 CSRs across the United States.

Semafone’s solution met the online and mobile brand’s prerequisites and more, as it will remove payment card data from the call centre infrastructure entirely. Real estate agents calling to purchase advertising on the online platform can simply enter their payment card information via their phone’s touchtone keypad. Meanwhile, CSRs can remain on the line in full conversation with the customer, carrying out wrap-up tasks and answering any questions. Dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) masking prevents CSRs from deciphering the tones, and therefore, the payment card details. The data is securely and directly sent to the payment gateway so it is not held in the call centre infrastructure or other unsecured areas of the business. These capabilities will help the company mitigate risks associated with data breaches and dramatically reduce the scope of PCI DSS for the business.

Additionally, the Semafone solution enables a high level of customer service, ensuring streamlined communication without the need to transfer the caller to another system or department, or to re-route call lines to a different telecommunications company to complete a transaction. The technology is also easy to use and fits seamlessly with CSRs’ existing workflow – a benefit which stood out in the solution selection process.

“As this new client continues its growth trajectory, its call centres are handling an increasing number of customers and taking more payments – making data security and compliance even more challenging,” said Tim Critchley, CEO, Semafone. “By removing card holder data from the call centre environment, we are easing PCI DSS compliance so the company can focus on expanding its business and best-serving customers. They will benefit from a solution that is intuitive and easy to use, allowing CSRs to perform their jobs more efficiently. We are looking forward to a successful deployment over the course of the coming months.”