The credit card telephone payment system has a large number of applications beyond the private sector. Indeed, we often look at the use cases of this procedure in e-commerce companies, professional services, debt collection and other areas, but it also comes in handy for public administration management.
Specifically, a secure card payment system such as PAYbyCALL is perfect for the automated processing of the collection of fees and fines by public entities of any territorial scope, specialization and size. In this blog post we tell you why and how it can be used.
What any administration needs…
If you ask any public administration official what a fee and penalty collection system needs to be efficient, they will probably tell you about automation, traceability and complianceThe procedure must comply with the law, there must be a record of having been carried out and the whole process must be carried out in the most expeditious manner possible.
At PAYbyCALL we know that these procedures can be carried out without human intervention rather than with it; not only to “free up” personnel who can dedicate themselves to more complex tasks, but also to shorten times and, above all, reduce the inevitable human errors. And also to comply with PCI SCC (the payment card industry consortium) requirements regarding the use of personal and banking data.
Of course, there should be a record of any collection process involving a public administration; but no one should have access to the payer’s data, for the good of both the users of the service and the entity itself. The Barcelona City Council is already taking this into account and will manage the collection of fees and fines securely by telephone from 2022.
…and any user or citizen, too.
Let’s do the same as before: let’s ask any citizen (or user of private services in similar conditions) what he expects when he has to pay a fee or a sanction to any administration. You probably don’t want to have to travel and wait in long lines; this is easier over the phone, although the service must be agile to avoid virtual queues; automation achieves this.
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You’ll also want simplicity and efficiency. In other words, it should be easy to identify which fee you want to pay or which specific file a particular fine refers to. In this regard, entering such references on a numeric keypad or selecting them via an interactive voice menu is very efficient. Once the payment has been made, you can receive a confirmation or the next step by SMS, for example.
Finally, you will expect an appropriate treatment of your personal data, including banking or financial information. This can be particularly sensitive for public administrations of any rank, mainly due to the large volume of data and information they handle, and the sensitive nature of data such as a credit card number.
Reviewing the procedure
This could be a model procedure of interaction between the user who wants to make a payment and the corresponding public administrative entity( more details can be foundhere ):
- The user calls a number and is answered by an automatic switchboard that launches a welcome message and guides the call flow by asking the user the reason for the call (by voice recognition or dialing on the telephone keypad).
- Through different selection menus oriented with the help of the switchboard (type in a reference number, say a specific tax), the user defines the specific procedure he/she wants to carry out.
- After confirming the information, the PBX redirects the call to the PAYbyCALL system via secure SIP protocol and the customer enters his data.
- PAYbyCALL forwards the payment request to the corresponding gateway, and returns an OK/KO confirmation to both the user and the information management point established by the public entity.
- The application issues a “voucher” (SMS, code, link, etc.) or returns the user to an initial menu so that he/she can complete the procedure if necessary.
