Intuate, Semafone partner to eliminate card fraud at call centres

The partnership between Intuate Group and Semafone will enable South African contact centres to take voice payments, without agents ever having to hear or see credit card details.

"In South Africa, there are currently 1 500 call centres that employ more than 100 000 agents and process millions of Rands in credit card transactions each year; so it may not come as a surprise that payment fraud in South Africa totalled R403m in 2011," says Mark Edwards, director of product and services at Intuate Group. "The vast majority of these payments are currently taken over the phone, exposing the business to the risk of agent fraud."

Enter card data via keypad

The solution that will be offered by Intuate Group and Semafone ensures that contact centres are totally protected from any type of agent data leak via the secure voice transaction system that allows the agent and the caller to remain in voice communication throughout the call.

"Customers simply enter their card data via their telephone keypad instead of speaking it over the phone to the call centre agent, meaning that the sensitive data does not ever enter the call centre environment. The key advantages of the solution are that the agent only hears a single flat tone on keypad entry and that they are able to stay on the telephone to assist the customer throughout the process if required. Call recording systems simply record masked or unidentified digits and any computer system merely shows asterisks. And, as clients intuitively understand that Semafone is protecting them against the theft of their card or financial data, customer satisfaction levels improve," adds Edwards.

Transactions are protected

"Intuate Group is excited about this partnership because the solution is so simple, yet hugely effective. Combined with our market-leading contact centre skills, contact centres now have the ability to protect future payment transactions. The partnership will provide our mutual clients with the peace of mind and assurance that their data is protected, while also providing a clear return on investment. Furthermore, the solution positions clients to take many parts of their business out-of-scope for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance, as the card data simply does not enter the call centre saving huge PCI compliance costs," says Edwards.

"While fraud is a significant threat in the South African contact centre market, Intuate Group is committed to addressing the issue to bring peace of mind to consumers and greater protection to its clients," says Graham Thompson, sales and marketing director at Semafone. "The company has a great reputation and strong strategic partnerships. We are delighted to join its partner network and will work closely with Intuate Group to help eliminate fraud and to reduce the scope and associated costs of its clients' PCI compliance projects."