THE COMPLIANCE CHALLENGE
NFP Health operates seven Health Insurance Exchanges across the country. This includes managing the contact center operations for the State of New Mexico’s Individual Health Insurance Exchange (NMHIX). Jeff Stoddard, VP of Information Technology for NFP Health, explains how the organization has focused on implementing the right technologies to deliver an efficient customer experience, with risk management and payment compliance built into the heart of its operations for NMHIX.
“This was a multifaceted project where we looked to make improvements to streamline the overall customer service experience, as well as make payments quick and secure while ensuring continued compliance with data protection legislation and the PCI DSS. This was a strategic risk management objective,” said Stoddard.
“A subset of contact center agents was responsible for taking manual credit card payments. This was time-consuming for the agents, added risk to the exchange, and limited customers to making payments within business hours. We needed to identify a way of lightening the load.”
“Having a remote workforce made this an important consideration from a compliance point of view. We needed to ensure that any sensitive customer information was not visible, audible, or accessible to those working from home, so we needed a solution that could securely support a remote workforce,” continued Stoddard.
Understanding that a comprehensive solution was needed to improve CX and achieve regulatory compliance, NFP Health turned to its communications provider, Vonage, for recommendations. With its seamless integration and scalable, cloud-based PCI compliance solutions, PCI Pal quickly stood out as a key recommendation.
The Solution
Having assessed the business case presented by Vonage, the team at NFP Health put the wheels into motion. Stoddard recalls, “In late September, we gave the go-ahead to proceed with PCI Pal, which meant aligning resources between Vonage, PCI Pal, and the NFP Health team. Everyone came together and was focused on making the implementation a success, creating a timeline of what needed to happen and by when.”
The PCI Pal IVR Payments solution enables customers to securely make payments 24/7 over the phone. It equips contact centers to receive payments without bringing environments in scope of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). The PCI Pal IVR Payments solution is available from within the PCI Pal cloud-based platform that provides Agent Assist and Digital secure payment products so that the contact center can receive payment through any business communications channels.
“Preparation was key to ensure the integration would be a success; we needed to make it as straightforward as possible to keep to an 8-week timeline. In all, there were four systems involved, so we needed the right pieces of the jigsaw in place to bring it all together and make the project a success. Vonage and PCI Pal were very hands-on and supportive in scoping the project, which provided us with great confidence.
“The integration of PCI Pal with our telephony and payment systems went well. With each call, we now ensure that two pieces of vital information are collected at the outset: account confirmation and balance information. If a balance is payable, payment can be initiated through PCI Pal for collection. “Vonage has also adjusted the call tree so anyone calling in with a billing inquiry is now routed straight through to the right place, earlier in the process, saving time and delivering a more streamlined customer experience,” explains Stoddard.
Read the full case study to learn how PCI Pal has provided NFP Health with a solution that secures remote contact center payments while enhancing the customer experience.
