The vast majority of consumers still do not trust contact centre workers to keep their personal and card payment details secure when paying over the phone, even though reported cases of fraud are very low in the UK.
According to a new report from Syntec Telecom, despite huge investments in technology, only 14% of consumers felt very confident that organisations will keep their payment details secure. Some 68% believe bosses must do more to combat potential fraud.
There have been a number of instances of card data theft at overseas operators. Earlier this year, Indian call centres faced a fresh backlash following claims made in The Sunday Times that rogue staff were offering personal data – including credit and debit card details – for as little as 2p per record.
The Syntec study, carried out by Davies Hickman Partners, looks at how contact centre leaders are meeting the challenges of the new secury standard – called PCI DSS – and card payment security in UK businesses.
Perhaps unsurprisingly trust is a big issue, with 80% of consumers saying they felt some call centre agents may commit fraud by stealing their data.
The research shows that for all the talk of compliance over the past three years, merchants are adopting very diverse strategies for operating contact centres:
• ‘Head in the Sand’: These organisations are adopting a trust-based approach rely-ing on existing systems and staff, including elements of ‘clean-rooming’, but are un-aware of the seriousness of PCI requirements
• ‘Segmenting the Problem’: Here, organisations are setting up discrete payment teams to reduce the numbers of agents taking payments
• ‘De-scoping payments’: Organisations engaged in PCI compliance are using tech-nology to shield crucial payment card data from the call centre.
Another problem highlighted by the report is the huge turnover of contact centre staff – currently running at up to 30% a year, “creating a continual need to train new starters and vet their credentials”.
Syntec director Simon Beeching said: “One approach will not fit all. There is increasing pressure to comply with PCI DSS and the research shows that merchants are keen to reassure customers of the integrity of their payment and data storage systems.
“The advance of cloud technology and the hosted solutions that are available mean they can now ensure compliance cost-effectively and quickly.”
A full copy of the white paper is available free at the Syntec website
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