Agent-assisted payments
Agent-assisted payments let you securely collect credit card information from callers during a live call. The customer enters their card number, expiration date, and CVV using their phone's keypad -- you never see or hear the card details. A secure payment token is generated and can be used with UltraCart Order Entry to process the charge.
Overview
When a customer needs to make a payment during a phone call, agent-assisted payments provide a PCI-compliant way to capture their card information without exposing it to the agent. The customer enters their card details using DTMF tones (keypad presses) on their phone. The payment service captures the input directly, bypasses the agent entirely, and returns a secure token. This token represents the card and can be used to process a charge through UltraCart Order Entry.
Call recording is automatically paused during the payment capture process to ensure no card data is stored in recordings.
PCI compliance model
Agent-assisted payments are designed for PCI compliance:
The agent never sees or hears card data. DTMF tones are captured directly by the payment service and are not played to the agent.
Card data is tokenized immediately. Raw card numbers are never stored in UltraCart systems.
Recording pauses automatically. Call recording is suspended during the payment capture window and resumes after the session completes or is canceled.
Tokens are single-use. The generated payment token is used once to process the charge and cannot be reused.
Payment capture workflow
Starting a payment session
During an active call, open the payment panel from the softphone controls.
Select Start to begin a new capture session. The system connects to the payment service and prepares to accept card input.
Three fields appear: Card Number, Expiration Date, and Security Code (CVV).
Capturing card fields
For each field:
Select Capture next to the field you want to collect.
Instruct the customer to enter the value on their phone's keypad, followed by the
#key to confirm.While the customer types, the field shows "Awaiting Input" with a yellow indicator.
Once the customer completes the entry, the field turns green and shows a masked value (e.g.,
**** **** **** 4242).
You can capture fields in any order. If a field needs to be re-entered (for example, the customer made a typo), select Re-capture to have the customer enter it again.
Field status indicators
Color | Meaning |
|---|---|
Green | Field successfully captured |
Yellow | Customer is currently entering the value |
Red | An error occurred (invalid input, timeout, etc.) |
Completing the payment
When all three fields show green (successfully captured):
Select Complete Tokenization.
The payment service validates and vaults the card.
On success, a "Card securely vaulted" banner appears with a green checkmark.
The secure token is delivered to your session and is ready to use in Order Entry.
Using the token in Order Entry
After the card is successfully tokenized, the payment token is available in UltraCart Order Entry. You can apply it as a payment method when creating or processing an order for the customer.
Error handling
If an error occurs during capture, the field turns red and a descriptive message appears:
Error | Meaning |
|---|---|
Invalid card number | The entered card number is not valid |
Invalid security code | The CVV doesn't match or is the wrong length |
Invalid expiration date | The date format is incorrect or the card is expired |
Input timed out | The customer didn't enter input within the allowed time |
Card type not accepted | The card brand is not supported |
Too many attempts | Maximum retry attempts exceeded |
When an error occurs:
For field-level errors (invalid card number, timeout), select Re-capture to let the customer try again.
For session-level errors (token creation failure), select Try Again to restart the payment process.
Canceling a payment session
You can cancel a payment session at any time before completion. Canceling discards any captured field data and resumes call recording.
Starting a new capture
After a successful payment capture, a Start New Capture button appears. This lets you capture a second card during the same call (for example, if the customer wants to use different cards for different orders).
Related pages
The softphone interface -- call controls and payment panel access
Call recording -- automatic recording pause during payment capture
Unified platform integration -- how payment tokens connect to Order Entry