Chat payment is the ability to take (or for customers, to make) payments within a live chat conversation. Payment happens in the chat window, while the customer is interacting with the agent.
This convenience sounds pretty good. There’s no channel disruption, and extra support for the paying customer. But when it comes to their payment information, people tend to be guarded. They need to know that their details remain protected and secure.
With chat typically occupying a less formal tone compared to other payment avenues, some customers may question: is chat payment safe?
What makes online payment safe?
Chat payment is not much different to other online payment methods. Looking at what makes other online payments safe, then, gives insight into whether chat payments are safe.
The key to secure online payments is security and privacy. For instance, features like PCI masking, secure connections, and verification/authorisation point to safe, secure payments.
So, when asking if a chat payment is safe, you’re essentially asking if it has these things.
And it does.
How chat payment works
Inside WhosOn, making payments through chat works through a rich Braintree integration. Braintree is a world-class PayPal service that processes over 1 billion transactions per quarter. So, the software behind your chat payment is the same as the software behind all those billions of transactions — and is just as safe.
Of course, there’s the new setting — a chat window. You wouldn’t casually tell someone your bank information. So, how does online payment translate to a chat window?
Making a chat payment consists of four steps:
- 1. The chat agent creates a transaction request during a chat session. So, there’ll be no unexpected payment requests.
- 2. The chatting customer clicks to open a secure payment window (which the agent cannot see) inside the chat session.
- 3. The customer chooses their payment method and inputs their details. This includes security questions and verification checks. The software completes these detail checks, verification, and payment processing instantly.
- 4. The agent receives a transaction link to confirm the payment — with no sensitive data displayed or retained.
So, at no point during a chat payment is the customer’s sensitive data displayed to an agent or under threat.
Our chat software also has PCI masking. This means that even if the customer jumps the gun with the chat payment — and provides their card number before the agent has initiated the request, the information will be masked from view.
In other words, chat payments are not only safe for the customer. Chat software has features to safeguard sensitive information outside of the chat payment window, too.
What do (safe) chat payments bring?
Not only is chat payment safe for the customer, but it also presents a host of other benefits.
The biggest is convenience. With chat payments, your customers get a convenient way to pay. Without the interruption of channel swapping to pay, customers get a smooth, supported journey. Customers get to continue to chat as usual after payment. So, they can ask any extra questions — or simply end the conversation in a human, conversational way instead of a cold transaction.
Having the ability to pay during a chat session also means that you are turning your chat window into a revenue window. Customers expect a smooth, omnichannel experience. And arguably, being able to pay during their online communication is a fantastic example of that.
Finally, there’s the boost to conversions that chat payments will encourage. Being able to pay in the chat window is going to make upselling and cross-selling as hurdle-free as possible. In fact, it’s going to make completing any purchase as hurdle-free as possible. All because your agents are there to move the hurdles out of the way.
Chat payment: safe and convenient
Is chat payment safe for the customer? Yes — and it’s a convenient way to pay, without disruption. So, want to start receiving customer payments via your live chat channel? Download your free trial of WhosOn today.