It’s Easy To Get Started With Automated IVR Phone & Text Payments

The first thing we need is your customer data. Typically this can be limited to customer name, address, account number, payment due date, and amount. You may want additional options indicated, such as if partial payments are allowed or multiple accounts for individuals. The most common way to get the information is through a CSV file that is transferred securely through SFTP. We can reconcile the data once a day or several times a day. Some customers prefer integrating their data through an API. Such integration isn’t complex, but the specifics will take longer to deploy than a CSV file transfer. This API integration method is typical with e-billing platforms with hundreds of customers and thousands of billpayers.

The last bit is to get set up with your payment gateway or processor. With dozens of integrations already set up, all we’ll likely need is your merchant ID. Here’s the complete list of integrated payment gateways and processors:

• Adyen
• AffiniPay
• Authorize.net
• Nuvei (BaseCommerce)
• Basys
• Bluefin PayConex
• Braintree GraphQL
• CardConnect
• Chase
• Commercial Payments
• Cybersource
• Elavon (Convergepay, Fusebox, Instamed)
• FluidPay
• Forte
• IntelliPay
• JP Morgan
• NMI
• OSG
• PassportConnect
• Paya Services
• PayPal Payflow
• BillingTree Payrazr
• Payroc
• PayTrace
• ProfitStars
• Repay
• Stripe V1
• TrustCommerce
• Tsys
• USAePay (nmi)
• WorldPay/Vantiv

Set Up Your Payment Number

This step is typically where future customers imagine some complexity, integrating with their phone system. But if your phone system can transfer calls, that’s all we need! And since we’re a RespOrg, we can obtain and provision as many as you need in any area code or toll-free number. So this step is nothing more complicated than picking a phone number for your payments line.

For e-billing platforms with hundreds of customers, it’s no problem for us to provision all the numbers your customers need. Many of our customers are billing platforms, and we can get your customers up and running with automated phone payments in just a couple of days.

Announce The New Service

As we often say, “It’s all fun and games until no one makes a payment by phone or text.” That’s why we keep working with you after everything is operational. We have a list of best practices for successfully driving awareness and adoption of your new automated pay-by-phone/text service for several industries. We can even help you create and distribute the marketing assets you’ll need to inform your customers.

It’s not hard to drive adoption in today’s post-COVID world, people are exploring touchless payment options, and nothing is more touchless than paying with your own phone. Check out our blog post on driving awareness and adoption for additional information.

Enjoy Your New Customer Experience

Today’s customers expect to have options. Automated payments by phone are an excellent new option that elevates the customer experience. Your employees will spend less time facilitating payments manually and more time on customer questions and issues. But more importantly, you can now accept payments from your customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

And for e-billing platforms, it’s a new channel to get more bill payers paying through your platform. In some cases, with utilities servicing a sizeable rural customer base, payments by phone account for nearly 50% of all payments. And, of course, with automated payments by phone and text, you’ve eliminated most of your PCI compliance concerns.