Datatel Releases Free Phone Payment Risk & Optimization Worksheet to Help Businesses Assess operational friction, customer experience gaps, and PCI exposure in phone payments

Datatel, a leader in IVR Payments and secure payment automation, today announced the release of its Phone Payment Risk & Optimization Worksheet to help organizations assess operational friction, customer experience gaps, and PCI exposure in phone payments.

Many organizations underestimate the risk embedded in their phone payment processes by continuing to rely on live agents to manually process payments, increasing PCI scope and audit complexity. Datatel has introduced a structured Phone Payment Risk and Optimization Worksheet designed to help them quickly assess exposure, identify inefficiencies, and uncover opportunities for improvement.

The worksheet focuses on key areas including payment handling models, employee exposure to card data, operational friction, and compliance awareness, as well as highlighting common risk indicators such as employees hearing or entering card data, payments being processed on recorded lines, and lack of clarity around PCI scope.

The worksheet can be downloaded here: https://www.datatel-systems.com/article/why-live-agent-phone-payments-are-forcing-the-shift-to-ivr-payments/ 

“Phone payments are often viewed as operational details, but they are a major driver of risk and PCI compliance burden,” says Datatel Co-CEO Barnard Crespi. “Organizations need a clear, practical way to understand their exposure and take control.”

Beyond compliance, the worksheet also addresses operational and customer experience challenges. These include long call handling times, high peak volumes, payment errors, and limited availability outside business hours.

The findings point toward a growing shift away from live agent payment handling toward automated IVR Payment solutions. This shift enables organizations to remove sensitive data from their environment, reduce audit scope, and deliver more consistent customer experiences.

The Phone Payment Risk and Optimization Worksheet is available as a self-guided tool and can downloaded for free here: https://www.datatel-systems.com/article/why-live-agent-phone-payments-are-forcing-the-shift-to-ivr-payments/

About Datatel Communications Inc

Datatel is a global provider of secure payment solutions, AI payment isolation technology, PCI-focused services, and executive advisory solutions that help organizations reduce risk, simplify compliance, and modernize payment environments with confidence.

For more than 30 years, Datatel has delivered enterprise-grade IVR Payment and transaction automation solutions designed to remove sensitive cardholder data from business environments and streamline workflows. Today, Datatel enables secure payments across voice, web, AI-driven customer interactions, and integrated software platforms while advising executive teams on payment modernization, risk reduction, and the evolving implications of AI-driven commerce.

Trusted by healthcare providers, financial institutions, government agencies, software companies, and enterprises worldwide, Datatel helps organizations minimize exposure to payment data, reduce PCI scope, and align modernization initiatives across people, processes, and platforms. The result is lower operational risk, a stronger security posture, and improved efficiency.

Through structured advisory , Datatel provides leadership teams with clear visibility into their payment ecosystems identifying risk gaps, hidden vulnerabilities, operational inefficiencies, and modernization opportunities to ensure today’s decisions remain resilient as commerce evolves.

As a PCI Level 1 Service Provider and PCI SSC Associate Participating Organization, Datatel maintains the highest standards of payment security and actively contributes to advancing global compliance frameworks.

Datatel remains focused on delivering secure, scalable payment infrastructure and executive advisory services that support long-term operational resilience, responsible growth, and the future of AI enabled digital commerce.

At Datatel, we are also actively engaged in our communities. Webelieve that a society that shortchanges its youngest and most vulnerable members forfeits its own future, and as part ofthis core belief, we work as a team to support those in need and help them overcome challenges, contributing to a brighter future for all for generations to come.