Touchtone/DTMF capture is gaining ground as a means of securely capturing sensitive customer data over the telephone such as a credit card or social security number, e.g.  DTMF (dual tone multi frequency) is essentially using a touch tone phone to collect data based on the tones each number makes. DTMF enables contact centers to eliminate challenges associated with verbally collecting credit card, data from a customer over the telephone.  In this new environment, the customer merely keys in his/her number (while the agent stays on the phone), and it is securely transferred to the contact center’s secure server without ever traversing the main network or the agent’s desktop. The agent simply sees asterisks in place of numbers. This way he/she knows the data capture is at least taking place.

DTMF can provide a number of benefits to a contact center, including:

• Enhancing current PCI-DSS data security standards – removes the call center agent, desktop, desktop applications, call recording system and segments of the company network from sensitive data exposure.

• Eliminating dependence on call recording pause/resume technology – allows your call recording system to record the complete call without interruption. With normal pause/resume technology the agent could forget to pause the call, violating PCI-DSS regulations. When pause/resume does work correctly, the sensitive data portion of the call isn’t being captured, so the quality assurance team would not be able to evaluate the entire call. On another note, pause/resume capabilities within a call recording system take time to implement and often come with a hefty price tag.

• Reducing average transaction time – case studies show DTMF capture reduces average transaction times as there is no longer a need to parrot back the credit card or social security number to the customer. This approach saves valuable seconds per call which can add up quite substantially in contact centers processing hundreds or thousands of transactions daily/weekly/monthly.

• Resolving customer’s need without transferring to another agent – (a la first call resolution) – there is no need to transfer the customer to a specialty agent who is designated to collect the credit card number, for example. Any agent can collect the data with DTMF, and therefore, the customer call is resolved without having to transfer to another agent. In non-DTMF scenarios, sometimes the customer must wait for an email confirmation while on the phone with an agent to ensure his/her credit card number was correctly captured and the transaction was made. This process is eliminated entirely.

• Enhancing your brand reputation and customer loyalty – when customers experience DTMF capture with your company they will feel good about the secure aspects of the process and your desire to protect their data. Satisfied customers stay with you, refer others and convey their satisfaction to family and friends.

• Secure data transfer in place in weeks – CTI based DTMF capture technology can be employed in mere weeks so you will be PCI compliant and up and running in short order. The process is simple and easy.

These are just some of the many advantages DTMF capture can bring to your business. Don’t you think it’s time you start thinking about implementing DTMF it in your contact center?