Case Study: Waltham Forest Council achieves PCI DSS-compliant, secure phone payments with CivicaPay Mid-call (Civica)

Waltham Forest uses CivicaPay Mid-call to support payments by phone

Waltham Forest Council, the London borough serving around 271,200 residents, needed a more secure way to take operator-assisted payments by phone without exposing staff to cardholder data or risking PCI DSS and GDPR breaches. Previously agents paused call recording while residents read out card details, leaving the council vulnerable and creating compliance challenges that prompted consultation with its payment partner, Civica.

Civica implemented CivicaPay Mid-call (using the PCI Pal Agent Assist DTMF masking solution) to descope the council’s data and voice networks from PCI DSS and let agents guide residents while card details are entered securely via telephone keypad. The solution went live in January 2020, required minimal training, made every transaction PCI DSS compliant, reduced staff exposure to sensitive data, and improved resident confidence and inclusion by enabling seamless, secure phone payments.

Waltham Forest Council

Marcus Power

Resident Financial Services Manager