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Local Authorities: The Compliance Solution

by Lorna Bradford on October 6, 2020

Local Authorities are required to meet additional standards when it comes to communications and processing payments, as well as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, they need to comply with FCA regulations regarding the recording of telephone calls.

However, recording telephone calls and taking card details verbally from customers doesn’t make for compliant transactions and can leave many councils out of scope of the requirements of PCI DSS.

Agent Assist resolves this issue. Using Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) masking technology, and now Speech Recognition, agents cannot see or hear payment card details as callers enter their data using the telephone keypad or by speaking them. Implementing PCI Pal’s Agent Assist has meant Waltham Forest descoped their environment and voice network from the requirements of PCI DSS.

Success delivered, in the office and at home

Not only are all transactions processed through the Council’s resolution centre PCI DSS compliant, Waltham Forest has kept the personal touch. Social inclusion is important for the Council, by enabling its diverse community to interact and make payments over the phone while being guided through the entire process by an agent was a huge plus. Staff have required very little training too – the solution has proved positive for everyone, with the council commenting after the successful implementation that “the acid test of success is if technology just works with no issues, it becomes part of the fabric immediately.”

What’s more, in the face of the current global pandemic, like many organisations, Waltham Forest Council had to quickly transition their staff from office to home-based working. Though a dramatic operational change, using Agent Assist meant processing payments continued as normal and transactions were still handled in a secure and compliant way, even with the contact centre agents working from their homes.

In these times of uncertainty, where businesses and consumers alike are frequently targeted by cyber criminals for vulnerabilities, the Council has been able to provide residents with reassurance that their sensitive card data is safeguarded and payments are continually being handled in a secure and compliant way.

Read the council’s full compliance success story here.

PCI Pal has a range of case studies across multiple industries available via our website.

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