The Semafone technology holds a patent for its method of securing card payments made by telephone.

By using Semafone's technology in this way, Servebase will be able to grant consumers the same confidence and security when making payments over the phone that they would experience in traditional retail and ecommerce transactions. Semafone allows customers to use their telephone keypad to transmit card data directly to their bank so no sensitive details are held in the contact centre's infrastructure.

Card numbers are not spoken aloud and individual key tones are masked by the Semafone application so that they cannot be recognised by their sound. The contact centre agent can neither hear nor see sensitive information, even though they will remain on the call. In this way, Semafone essentially eliminates fraud in contact centres while also dramatically reducing the cost and burden of Payment Card Industry Data Security (PCI DSS) regulations.

"Semafone is offering a simple, robust and unique solution to the problem of security for telephone payments," commented Ritz Steytler, CEO of Servebase. "Our customers include some of the biggest names in a wide array of sectors, from hospitality to financial services. They rely on us to provide reliable and secure payment services for every channel they use and the partnership with Semafone means that we can remove another headache for them."

"We are very pleased to be helping Servebase provide merchants with cost effective PCI-DSS compliance," commented Tim Critchley, CEO of Semafone. "Consumers still value the level of engagement offered through telephone payments, so it is important that we ensure contact centres provide the same level of safety that customers take for granted in traditional bricks and mortar or ecommerce environments. We hope that through Semafone's partnership with Servebase, we will be able to offer their merchants and their customers peace of mind, by adding this extra se security."