Contact Centre Payments – Going Mobile
Rob Crutchington at Encoded looks at how the mobile market is changing the way customers choose to make payments.
Over recent years there has been a huge increase in the number of Smartphone users, apps downloaded and mobile transactions, presenting new challenges for contact centres.
In fact, according to this year’s UK Contact Centre Decision Makers’ Guide (DMG) by industry analyst ContactBabel “Statistics show the number of Smartphone users, volume of apps downloaded and the value of mobile transactions are rising so quickly that they would be out-of-date before the report was published”. An astonishing thought.
The rise of the Smartphone
This rise of the Smartphone has changed the way customers choose to interact with companies. Not just browsing for goods or services, they are now actively using their mobile devices to check balances, pay bills, order items online or post reviews. This means whether banking, checking utility bills or shopping, customers expect quick, easy access to their favourite transactional websites.
This has meant that companies have had to make changes to the mechanics of their websites, updating them to make them truly ‘mobile friendly’. According to the ContactBabel report, of the contact centres providing mobile customer service, over 80% now have a mobile version and around 50% offer a Smartphone app.
Omni-channel is now all-knowing
The key difference is that customers want to act (such as pay a bill) or make a decision (sign up for a service or buy online), rather than just browse websites. As a result, the contact centre is no longer just managing calls and emails they must be able to handle customer enquiries and payments via text and social media, such as Facebook Messenger, Twitter and other apps to provide a superior service.
This increase in the use of mobile raises some interesting issues and challenges, highlighted in the DMG report. The nature of a mobile phone is that is can provide a lot of information about the caller including the person’s ID, their location and other stored data such as account and payment details. As ContactBabel states, “Businesses can now know more about their customers and their specific requirements and preferences than ever before”.
The obvious benefits are that the company immediately has customer information during a call, which aside from the necessary security questions, facilitates a smoother customer journey. Background data can also provide opportunities to check a customer’s browsing and purchase history, to enable agents to offer promotions and up/cross sell during the interaction.
Maximising mobile service functionality
A rise in the use of Instant Messaging (IM) where customers can choose to make payments automatically by simply replying to an IM message has also changed the role of customer services. It allows customers to make payments ‘in their time’ and reduces the number of voice calls needed to chase payments. It is also a useful tool for companies to promote products or services or for customer service surveys. ContactBabel claims that; “large operations are more likely to be using SMS to communicate with customers, with 82% of respondents from this size band doing so.” However, where larger companies go now, smaller ones are sure to follow.
Making customer data security a priority
So far so good. However, with these great opportunities also come responsibility and that means ensuring that both the customer’s ID and payment details are protected. Any payments must comply with PCI DSS regulations and the new GDPR mandate to ensure mobile and online security of data (ways to tackle these are discussed in the PCI Compliance and Card Security chapter of the ContactBabel report).
As a PCI-DSS Level One Accredited Supplier, Encoded has for some time provided contact centres and their customers with a secure payment platform to ensure that transactions are fully automated and that confidential data is stored centrally and securely. Our new customer engagement platform now expands the offering to accommodate this mobile world.
The Encoded customer engagement platform works with SMS and other forms of IM including Facebook messenger and WhatsApp to support outbound dialling and integrates with many other services such as email and voice to enable multi-channel transactions. Designed with PCI DSS and GDPR in mind, it ensures complete security of mobile and online customer data. It also incorporates Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology that simulates human conversations to handle routine parts of customer interactions, which means a smaller number of contact centre staff can handle a larger number of transactions.
True customer engagement reaps benefits
There are many benefits to be gained from embracing this new mobile world – from facilitating faster payments, reducing debt levels with faster resolution of accounts (and less agent time spent chasing), to keeping customers updated via broadcasts of product offers and promotions. If your contact centre hasn’t yet gone mobile, then now is the time to act. Customers will vote with their Smartphone, not their feet, and choose the companies that offer true mobile omni-channel customer service.
source contactcentres
Industry: Unified Communications News
Latest Jobs
-
- IAM Product/ Project Manager
- Belgium
- Upto €80,000 plus benefits
-
IAM product/project manager is need for this expanding service provider to help develop their IAM (CIAM) strategy roadmap. This role will have two main functions, to work between the front end digital team and the backend IAM development team to ensure that the current deployment of the solution runs smoothly and is fit for purpose, the Second function is to look at the business’ future digital offerings and to understand how the IAM/CIAM solution will develop with the new digital strategy, you will be looking at the future technology and the ensuring the IAM solution is fit for purpose. The business is an agile environment and you will require agile experience. This is a great opportunity to help shape a key product within the future digital strategy of this expanding service provider. We are looking for someone with both IAM and strong product management experience Project management experience would be beneficial. If you are interested speak to Robert Anderton on 0044 (0) 7957 493501 and he will be able to discuss the role in more details IAM product/project manager is needed for this expanding service provider to help develop their IAM (CIAM) strategy roadmap. This role will have two main functions, to work between the front end digital team and the backend IAM development team to ensure that the current deployment of the solution runs smoothly and is fit for purpose, the second function is to look at the business’ future digital offerings and to understand how the IAM/CIAM solution will develop with the new digital strategy, you will be looking at the future technology and the ensuring the IAM solution is fit for purpose. The business is an agile environment and you will require agile experience. This is a great opportunity to help shape a key product within the future digital strategy of this expanding service provider. We are looking for someone with both IAM and strong product management experience Project management experience would be beneficial. If you are interested then speak to Robert Anderton on 0044 (0) 7957 493501 and he will be able to discuss the role in more details
-
- Cyber Incident Manager, Proactive planning and management. SC
- London
- N/A
-
Cyber Incident Manager, Proactive planning and management. Cyber incident Manager needed to join a large and complex business to help them prepare for a cyber related incidents. SC clearance will be required. Current or the ability to achieve. This role does not require specific current hands on technical Incident response experience, but this background would give a distinct advantage. The role has two key functions: to help the business prepare for an event and to steer them through when / if that happens. The Cyber Incident response managers role will include, but not be limited to; working with internal stakeholders to develop a security incident management plan along with its and supporting policies. Developing plans and implementing strategies on how incidents are detected, reported, assessed and responded to. Engaging with leadership teams both internal and external, proactively mapping out this large business to identify and engage the various other stakeholders and their teams. Build out and document incident scenarios and their processes, ensure incident management procedures are updated, playbooks and key training etc. You should have experience working with both internal teams and external suppliers. The role will also focus on liaising with the various teams to ensure the security incident response plan is delivered effectively. CCIM, GCIH, CIPR (NCSC-Certified Cyber Incident Planning & Response) Looking to interview immediately.
-
- SOC Manager. SC Clearance. Immediate opportunity.
- Unknown
- N/A
-
Permanent SOC Manager. SC cleared / clearable, London / Birmingham. SOC Manager needed to replace a SOC contractor I placed into a client who is due to complete their assignment at the end of March. The ability to achieve SC clearance is essential. Looking for someone that is a blend of strategic stakeholder engagement with strong technical skills. The role will sit in a relatively new SOC environment. The position is to setup, implementation and management of resources to help with the initial and on-going stages of a new SOC. Experience engaging with and managing client stakeholder relationships as well as 3rd party relationships is critical. The role will involve; setting up, implementing and fine tuning the various initial stages of a SOC environment. Experience establishing and building out technical process / operational capability, managing of technical teams (analysts, engineers and architects, creation of policy / playbooks, fine turning is key. SPLUNK is the tooling of choice… Interviewing immediately. Set up a call with me today on https://calendly.com/chris-holt/arranged-call-with-chris-holt-soc-manager-role Direct contact details Chris.Holt@dclsearch.com or 07884666351
-
- Security engineer. Financial Services. UK. Permanent
- Unknown
- N/A
-
CH7863 Security engineer. End User . Financial Services Security Engineer needed to monitor and manage a security suite of tools within an End User environment. The Security Engiener will be responsible monitoring, configuring, fine tuning, incident management and generally improving the security tool capability. Specific experience with CyberArk, Tripwire Log Center and Tripwire Enterprise is highly desirable). Current experience with Vulnerability management and penetration testing is highly desirable. Specifically the ability to effectively manage 3rd party pen tests. You will be working within a specialist security team reporting to the CISO. Experience working within an end user environment within financial services is highly desirable. Flexible location. This is an exclusive role to DCL Search & Selection. To book a call please use my Calendy link https://calendly.com/chris-holt/arranged-call-with-chris-holt-soc-role-