How IVR Payment Solution Changes the Scenario of Making Payment
Utilities, telecom companies, and financial institutions are just a few examples of businesses with large customer bases where timely payments are of crucial importance for healthy cash flow. Payments of bills or loan installments or outstandings can improve a lot with the simple inclusion of a real-time pay now IVR payment solution.
Consider the normal scenario
Consider a pre-IVR payment system scenario. The creditor sends out a printed reminder, en email or a phone call. The debtor makes it a point to send payment. A cheque may be the preferred method and this entails delay. It may take a day or two or longer for the individual to find time to write out the cheque and mail it. It takes time for the cheque to be processed and for money to show up in the account. Emails are likely to be ignored or set aside for action at a later time. Utilities or financial institutions may send someone in person to collect the cheque but this also introduces delay as well as additional cost of collection. A cheque may bounce and that is another complication.
The Post IVR Payment System Implementation Scenario
Payments keep flowing in. Promptly and speedily. This is the magic of IVR payment solution that incorporates PCI compliant card processing with secured payment gateway from a reliable vendor.
– As usual, the utility company or financial institution calls the customer for payment and if the customer shows willingness, he is transferred to the IVR payment system. The customer follows a series of prompts, enters card number and PIN and payment is transferred without human intervention. People are understandably chary about disclosing card details to human agents but will not have any hesitation to use IVR payment since button pushes cannot be recorded and card details are kept fully secure. In another scenario, the IVR itself may initiate calls on schedule and get customers to start the payment process.
– A customer may wish to make payment and it is late in the day to do it in person. He simply dials the payment number shown on the bill and completes the transaction in as little as five minutes even if it is the middle of the night. Your payments are active 24×7! Cash flow improves.
– Funds are posted, credited and accounted for immediately when the payment IVR and CRM, as well as financials, are all linked together.
– Payer receives immediate confirmation. It is easy for him to make payment using his smartphone and nothing else. He does not even need to have a checkbook.
– Institutions that install IVR payment system experience considerable cost reductions in terms of manpower dedicated to payment collection and records maintenance. Everything happens electronically and there are no errors.
– Paperless transactions also mean a better environment and reduced costs overall since it does cost to print, distribute and handle currency notes.
For the IVR Payment system to succeed it must have the right set of features that permit 2-way payments, security and confidentiality as well as unattended operations if required.
