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May 13, 2019 • Issue 19:05:01

Conversational commerce:

complex, interactive, evolving

IVR systems
Payment technology's evolution began when interactive
voice response (IRV) systems and dial modems began to
replace phoned-in payment card authorizations. Like Morse
code, early touchtone phones linked numeric values with
dual-tone multifrequencies (DTMF) to enable machines to
transmit credit card numbers. Over time, service providers
began to mask DTMF sounds to prevent criminals from
eavesdropping on sensitive payment card data.

Semafone, a data security and compliance solution
provider for call centers, uses advanced DTMF masking
in its flagship solution, Cardprotect. Gary E. Barnett, CEO
at Semafone, noted that Cardprotect 4.0 is Payment Card
Industry Payment Application Data Security Standard
(PA-DSS) certified. "We are literally saving our payment
By Dale S. Laszig application partners valuable time and costs that would
otherwise have gone towards achieving the [PA-DSS]
n a world where anyone anywhere can transact on certification themselves," he added.
any device, digital assistants help deliver targeted
messages to broadly distributed audiences. While
I it may seem incongruous to use machines to per- Adam Hofman, product manager at CallRail, mentioned
sonalize relationships, chat bots and digital assistants are that advanced speech recognition has enabled IVR systems
to recognize complex phrases. "These systems are smarter
becoming adept at representing the people and companies
they serve. It's not always easy to differentiate between than they were ten years ago, which has helped reduce wait
times while improving customer experience," he said.
machines and humans on the phone, email or online chat.
"Voice: payments' next integration," The Green Sheet's lead
article in issue 19:04:01, examined the expanding role of
voice technologies in payments. This article explores how Contributed articles inside by:
sentient machines are transforming transactions from
simple clicks into complex, interactive and contextual
expressions of our interests, personalities and lifestyles. Brandes Elitch ........................................................................................24
Dee and Emily Karawadra .................................................................33
The article also addresses concerns voiced by merchant Peter Spee ...............................................................................................36
level salespeople and their customers about AI in smart Adam Atlas ..............................................................................................38
homes and connected workplaces. Will AIs respect our
privacy and security and enhance productivity? Or will
they encroach on personal moments and take away our TOC on page 3
jobs?

Continued on page 31