Stripe, a technology and payments company, is Twilio’s initial launch partner. With Twilio, Stripe customers will be able to connect their account and begin accepting credit card payments in minutes. Twilio announced <Pay> and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance for its Programmable Voice product today at SIGNAL, its customer and developer conference.

“Historically, taking payments over the phone has been either unsecure or painfully difficult and complex for businesses to support. With Twilio <Pay>, we think there’s a better way,” said Kris Gutta, senior product manager of Programmable Voice at Twilio. “Twilio <Pay> gives developers the tools needed to build secure and intuitive payment experiences. Now developers will only need to add one line of code to begin processing payments over the phone.”

With <Pay>, businesses can securely accept payments via IVR prompts, enabling automated collection of credit card details. Built-in features help contact centre agents connect with customers and assist in making phone payments without revealing sensitive credit card data to the agent, adding to the security of customer data in a contact centre setting.

Many businesses want to allow their customers to place orders or pay bills over the phone. However, with the continued rise in identity theft, consumers are more cautious and protective when it comes to sharing their credit card information. In addition, for any company that transmits or stores credit card information, PCI DSS compliance is a must, as it ensures consumer credit card information is securely handled. Until now, businesses who wanted to accept credit card payments over the phone either had to face the operational complexity of becoming PCI DSS compliant themselves, which includes annual audits, or use a payment processing tool with limited customisability. Twilio solves this problem with the introduction of <Pay>, a fully programmable payment solution designed natively for communications channels.