Accepting credit card payments over the phone is still common in many industries—from healthcare and insurance to utilities and government services. But if your staff is collecting card details by phone, you’re exposing your business to far more risk, cost, and compliance burden than necessary. There’s a better option: IVR (Interactive Voice Response) Payments.

When a ransomware attack freezes payroll, when a breach leaks customer financial records, or when a vendor’s vulnerability drags your organization into a regulatory firestorm those are not IT problems. They’re financial, operational, and reputational landmines. And more than ever, the detonator sits squarely on the CFO’s desk.

Reducing PCI scope isn’t just a compliance checkbox it’s a strategic advantage. Every organization that accepts credit card payments must contend with Payment Security and PCI Compliance.

You don’t need to be in the cybersecurity or payment industry to know this is wildly irresponsible. For most people, this would immediately raise red flags or cause them to hang up the phone altogether. But here’s the thing: some patients will follow these instructions.

Recent attack exploits unprotected, non-sensitive webpages to deploy customized fake payment form per site

When Convenience Undermines Secuity: An Experience with a very well-known Telecoms Payment Process

If you're still relying on staff to take payments over the phone manually, it's worth asking: Is this really the most secure, efficient, or cost-effective method available?

Datatel’s CryptoIVR™ IVR payments solution offers an automated and secure way for your business to handle Phone Payments, reduce your PCI scope, and enhance your customers’ card data security. When combined with the power of Guidewire, your Insurance Company will achieve rapid implementation and immediate operational benefits, making for a powerful billing platform combination.

Businesses accepting payments over the phone need a system that is secure, efficient, and easy for customers to use. Interactive Voice Response (IVR) payment solutions provide a reliable way to automate transactions while reducing security risks and ensuring compliance with Payment Card Industry (PCI) requirements. Whether an organization is implementing IVR Payments for the first time or looking to replace manual processing, IVR Payment technology offers options that fit a variety of needs.

As the digital landscape evolves, so must the approach to payments, and operators now have a unique opportunity to modernize, improve security, and enhance customer experience.