How to Handle Payment Processing with a Work from Home Staff
Jim Barker
Chief Revenue Officer | Digital Enablement Strategist | Client Experience Evangelist | Branding & Marketing Creative | AI and Data-Driven Decision Promoter | Results & Growth Enabler | Helping People Succeed
While going through these changing times, many of us are learning to work from home. Yet, there are still a few challenges we face in serving customers in a safe and secure way… specifically while accepting payments.
Over the last few days, we’re handling requests from organizations that have not used pay by phone or pay by text for their customers to make payments. Since their staff has been moved to a work from home environment, they need to be able to continue to process payments with customers, and no one is in the office to check the mail. Additionally, these staff members were working in secure environments, but not anymore. Asking for credit card account information in a nonsecure environment (their homes) exposes many risks (see PCI compliance).
So, what’s the solution?
Security is important for your customers but equally important for you. If someone leaks personal credit card information (even by accident), your customer suffers and so do you. So, offering secure pay by phone or pay by web options are very common. If you haven’t enabled these two modalities, they would be the place to start.
By enabling pay by phone, you can self serve customers with payment options avoiding the need to speak with anyone. Even if your staff is working remote answering customer calls, avoid the risk by self-serving those customers you know are likely calling to make a payment. There are a couple of ways to make this happen - integrating an IVR solution with your database or establishing a batch file process for updating the IVR system.
Finally, make it simple and easy for your remote workers. When they get a call from a customer needing to make a payment, a one-button transfer to the secure pay by phone IVR system with a good explanation to the customer for the reason they’re being transferred is important. Make it simple and easy for your team… especially since they may have distractions while working from home.
For more information on work from home automation solutions, follow IVR Technology Group on LinkedIn or visit www.ivrtechnology.com.