Virgin Atlantic Airways further strengthens payment security with Semafone

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Semafone has announced that its software has been selected by Virgin Atlantic Airways (VAA) to protect card data provided by customers over the telephone. The secure voice solution will enable PCI compliant payment card payments throughout VAA's contact centres worldwide.

The Semafone solution allows customers to enter their own card details into their telephone keypad and passes these directly to the bank. The agent cannot see or hear the card numbers but remains on the call during the entry of payment data to offer assistance if needed.  No card data is processed or stored on VAA's telephony infrastructure or agent desktops, removing the need for the numerous checks and controls that would otherwise be needed to comply with PCI regulations.

VAA employed a rigorous evaluation process, weighing up the benefits of a number of alternatives including 'clean room' facilities, before making its final decision in favour of Semafone. The international airline was impressed by the overall flexibility of Semafone's patented technology, and by its cost and ease of implementation.  The airline was also satisfied that Semafone's experience and existing client base demonstrated its ability to deliver.

"During our evaluation process, we considered a number of different options, but the decision to implement Semafone was simple" commented David Bulman, director of information technology at Virgin Atlantic Airways.  "The safety of our customers' data is of paramount importance and we needed to find a solution that we could put in place with limited disturbance. Semafone met all of our requirements."

"We are delighted to have been selected by Virgin Atlantic Airways to provide PCI compliant payment card capture across its contact centres," commented Tim Critchley, CEO of Semafone.  "The need to prevent card fraud is a global one so we are very pleased to be able to support VAA in its contact centres across the world."