PCI Proxy for Call Centres and MOTO
Call centre PCI compliance and MOTO payment processing without plaintext PANs: DTMF masking, secure IVR and DTMF tokenisation that keeps agents outside the cardholder data environment, in line with PCI DSS requirements applicable to the telephone channel.
Customer DTMF input
Tones replaced - agent hears ♪ ♪ ♪
PCI Proxy Tokenises
PAN → token in <200ms
Token received
PAN never visible to agent
SAQ A-EP
Compliant Rec.
0 Plaintext PANs
MOTO Payment Flow with PCI Proxy
Mail Order / Telephone Order (MOTO) transactions present a unique PCI challenge: card data is spoken aloud, typed by agents and potentially captured in call recordings. PCI Proxy eliminates each of these risk vectors.
Customer Calls
The customer phones your call centre to place an order or make a payment
Agent Transfers
Agent clicks "Capture Card", the call is routed through PCI Proxy's secure IVR
DTMF Capture
Customer enters digits on keypad. DTMF tones are masked - agent hears uniform tones
Tokenised
PCI Proxy tokenises the PAN and returns a token to the agent's screen
Payment Processed
Agent confirms the order and the token is forwarded to your PSP for payment
Agents
Never See
Card Numbers
0
Agent touchpoints with raw PAN
DTMF masking and secure IVR work in tandem to guarantee complete card data isolation.
The fundamental principle of PCI Proxy for call centres is simple: at no point does a human agent see, hear or have access to the full PAN. Two technologies work together to achieve this.
DTMF Masking
When the customer enters their card number using the telephone keypad, PCI Proxy intercepts the DTMF tones in real time. The actual digits are captured and sent to the tokenisation engine, while the agent's audio stream receives flat, uniform tones. Even the call recording captures only the masked tones.
Secure IVR
For environments where DTMF is not feasible (VoIP quality issues, customer preference), PCI Proxy offers a secure IVR module. The call is briefly routed to an automated voice prompt. The IVR segment is excluded entirely from the recording.
Call Recording Compliance
Regulations and PCI DSS both require that card data is never stored in call recordings. PCI Proxy offers two approaches depending on your telephony setup.
Pause and Resume
The traditional approach: when the agent triggers card capture, the recording is paused. After the PAN is tokenised, recording resumes. Works with any platform but requires an integration point with the recorder.
PCI Proxy provides pre-built integrations for Verint, NICE and Genesys Cloud. For custom configurations, a simple REST API call pauses and resumes the recorder programmatically.
Proxy Approach (Continuous Recording)
With DTMF masking, the recording never needs to be paused. The call is recorded continuously, but the audio stream reaching the recorder already has DTMF tones replaced with flat audio. The recording is PCI compliant by default.
The ideal approach for organisations that need uninterrupted recordings for quality assurance, regulatory compliance (MiFID II, FCA) or dispute resolution. No gaps, no missing context and no PCI risk.
PCI DSS SAQ A-EP for Call Centres
Without PCI Proxy, a call centre that accepts card payments typically must complete SAQ D - the most comprehensive PCI questionnaire with over 300 requirements covering network segmentation, access controls, log monitoring, vulnerability management and much more.
With PCI Proxy handling all card data capture and storage, your call centre qualifies for SAQ A-EP. This questionnaire has approximately 140 requirements - less than half of SAQ D - and eliminates the need for internal network segmentation around agent workstations.
For a 200-seat call centre, this typically translates to annual savings of €80,000–€150,000 in QSA fees, penetration testing, security tooling and staff training.
Without PCI Proxy
SAQ D
300+ req.
€120K–€250K/year
With PCI Proxy
SAQ A-EP
~140 req.
€30K–€60K/year
60–75%
Average compliance cost reduction
Typical ROI within the first quarter
Works with Your Existing Systems
PCI Proxy integrates at SIP trunk level, sitting between your telephone provider and the contact centre platform. No changes to agent desktops, no new hardware and no disruption to existing workflows.
Genesys Cloud
Native integration with AudioHook and recording APIs. Full support for pause-resume flows and DTMF masking.
Amazon Connect
Lambda-based integration with Contact Flow support. Deploy PCI Proxy as a Lambda function in your AWS environment.
Cisco UCCE
SIP trunk integration with CVP and Finesse desktop. Compatible with existing Cisco agent workflows.
Any SIP Platform
Generic SIP trunk integration for Avaya, Asterisk, FreeSWITCH, etc. If it speaks SIP, PCI Proxy can proxy it.
Secure Your Call Centre Payments
Discover how PCI Proxy tokenisation works or see how merchants and developers integrate.