Eckoh and Worldpay conduct first telephone-based Apple Pay transaction

Apple Pay payment
PAY CALL: Proof of concept extends mobile payments into a new commercial channel

Contact centre solutions provider Eckoh has performed the world’s first Apple Pay payment via a telephone call. The proof-of-concept solution, developed in collaboration with Worldpay, will enable telephone-based payments to be taken at call centres, telephone ordering services or retailer-based telephone services with device-based Touch ID authentication to complete purchases.

“While the customer is on the phone to an agent, a message is sent to their device linking to their Apple Pay app,” Cameron Ross, director of payments strategy at Eckoh explains.

“The customer is asked to confirm the payment on their device. The contact centre then receives an alert confirming that the payment has been made.”

“For the first time, this innovation from Eckoh and Worldpay will allow callers to pay for products and services over the phone using Apple Pay from their Apple device,” Eckoh says. “Possible use cases range from high-volume call centre payments, telephone ordering services or retailer-based telephone payments.

Biometric secured

“The ability for callers to authorise payments via Apple Pay is more secure than a traditional telephone transaction. The card is tokenized by the Apple system and the device-based fingerprint authentication is utilised.

“This means that the payment will be processed as a biometric-secured transaction similar to an Apple payment in a physical store, as opposed to an unauthenticated cardholder-not-present transaction that is normally initiated by telephone payments.”

“Working with Eckoh, we have developed an exciting proof of concept that extends the use of mobile payments into a whole new channel of commerce,” adds Nick Telford-Reed, director of technology innovation at Worldpay.

“The solution has benefits for consumers and retailers alike, as well as an exciting range of future applications.”

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