CommerceGate recently introduced a new Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system which allows end-users to make secure purchases over the phone using a touch-tone telephone, landline or mobile device. The company is a well-known source of complete online billing solutions.

“It may sound complicated, but it is really very simple,” said Bjorn Skarlen, CEO of CommerceGate. “We handle the risk and security, the merchant focuses on delivering the service and receiving the money. Everybody wins."

While making a purchase through the IVR system, the caller simply has to key in credit card information, which is transmitted by the system to CommerceGate’s level one PCI (News - Alert) compliant secure payment system. Once the payment has been processed, the customer is directed back to the merchant phone service. A merchant using the IVR system can safely process payments and is not required to manage or store sensitive credit card data.

With this revolutionary credit card payment option, merchants have the advantage of outsourcing the management of sensitive card information to CommerceGate, which eliminates investing, managing and maintaining their own security and storage systems.  

The system has been designed to be level one PCI compliant, so merchants are spared the risk of dealing with security breaches that often result in credit card companies levying heavy penalty charges.

The IVR system also lowers processing costs, as the merchant is not required to hire phone payment processing staff.

“We are very excited to offer this service to our merchants in the United States and in Europe,” added Skarlen. “No other payment service provider that I know of can offer their clients this. The setup process is straight-forward and the potential rewards are huge."

The IVR system can integrate with regular phone systems and with VoIP systems, and can be configured to directly call the end user for making of payments.

The IVR system is ideal for merchants providing any kind of service over the phone, and for merchants who deliver integrated phone services with other media without having to worry about security and compliance issues.