Amazon Connect Has No Built-In Payment Capture
Amazon Connect is AWS's cloud contact centre platform. It handles routing, IVR via Contact Flows, agent desktops, and integrates natively with the AWS ecosystem, Lambda, Lex, DynamoDB, S3.
What it does not have is PCI-compliant payment capture.
When a customer calls to pay a bill, renew a subscription, or settle an invoice, Amazon Connect has no native mechanism to securely collect card details during the call. The platform was built for conversation management, not payment processing.
Some businesses have attempted to solve this with custom Lambda functions that capture DTMF input during Contact Flows. This technically works, but it creates a serious compliance problem. The card data passes through your AWS environment. It touches your Lambda execution context. It may be logged. It may be stored in CloudWatch. And your entire AWS infrastructure is now in PCI scope.
That is not a payment solution. It is a liability.
The Payment Gap in Amazon Connect
Amazon Connect excels at what it was designed for: scalable, cloud-native contact centre operations with pay-per-minute pricing and deep AWS integration. But payment capture was never part of the design.
Here is what is missing:
No DTMF isolation. Amazon Connect can capture DTMF input in Contact Flows, but those tones are not isolated from the audio stream. If an agent is on the line, they hear the keypad tones. If the call is being recorded, and Amazon Connect records by default, the card number is in the recording. If you are using Contact Lens for analytics, card data is flowing through speech-to-text processing.
No PCI-certified payment vault. There is no built-in mechanism to route card data to a secure, PCI-certified environment. Any card data captured via DTMF or speech is processed within your AWS account, which means your entire Connect instance and associated infrastructure falls into PCI scope.
No multi-PSP routing. Even if you build a custom payment integration, it connects to a single gateway. Enterprise customers with existing relationships with Worldpay, Adyen, or Stripe cannot route transactions through their preferred PSP without additional custom development.
No agent-assist payment flow. There is no mechanism for an agent to trigger a secure payment capture mid-call while staying on the line. The agent either takes the card details verbally (PCI nightmare) or transfers the customer to a separate IVR (customer experience nightmare).
The result: most Amazon Connect deployments either avoid phone payments entirely, sending payment links after the call, or accept the PCI risk of handling card data in their AWS environment.
How Shuttle Adds Payments to Amazon Connect
Shuttle adds PCI-compliant card capture to your Amazon Connect payment flows. When the customer is ready to pay, the card is captured inside Shuttle's PCI DSS Level 1 certified environment via Twilio Pay (Shuttle is Twilio's preferred payments partner), and the card data never reaches your Amazon Connect recordings, transcription, or your agents. Shuttle customers already take payments this way on Amazon Connect-based operations today.
The setup is light. It runs on Twilio Pay, so you need to be a Twilio customer, and you build a small integration on your side. Shuttle ships the secure PCI capture, payment links, IVR, and the payment APIs; what it does not ship is an out-of-the-box agent screen, the input UX, or the amount-passing API call wired for Amazon Connect specifically. So the part you build is small: pass the payment amount to Shuttle through its API (the minimum data we need), connect the secure capture into your Amazon Connect call flow over Twilio, and add your own agent screen if your workflow needs one. Customers running Amazon Connect have already built exactly this. If that fits, book a call and we will scope your exact setup. There is practical detail in the "What to Expect" section further down.
Secure card capture (voice)
When it is time to pay, the card is captured in a secure, PCI DSS Level 1 call via Twilio Pay. The customer enters their card details on their phone keypad, and the digits are captured inside Shuttle's certified environment. They never reach your Amazon Connect recordings, Contact Lens analytics, or your AWS environment. See the Twilio IVR & Agent Assist payment docs for the technical flow.
Payment Links
This is the most turnkey path. Shuttle generates payment links and sends them via SMS or email, including mid-call to a customer who is still on the line. The customer taps the link, enters card details on a secure hosted page, and confirmation is returned in real time. Shuttle provides the link interfaces out of the box, and links work even with gateways that don't support voice capture. See the Payment Links docs.
Agent experience
For voice, the agent triggers the capture and sees the result without ever handling card data. Shuttle does not ship a pre-built agent screen or input UX for Amazon Connect, so you build that minimal piece against Shuttle's APIs: trigger the capture, pass the amount, and show the result in your own agent screen if your workflow needs one. Customers running Amazon Connect have already built this. There is more in the "What to Expect" section below.
How a voice payment works
The call proceeds on Amazon Connect as normal. The agent handles the conversation, resolves queries, and reaches the point where payment is needed.
Payment is triggered from your agent interface when the customer is ready to pay.
Card captured securely. The card is captured in a PCI DSS Level 1 call via Twilio Pay, the customer enters their card on the keypad, and the digits are captured inside Shuttle's certified environment.
**Transaction is processed.** Shuttle routes to the configured PSP, any of 30+ supported gateways. Routing rules can be set by merchant, region, or failover logic.
Result returned to your interface and your systems via webhook. A tokenised reference is logged, no card data stored.
No card data in Amazon Connect. The card digits never touch your Connect recordings, Contact Lens, your CRM, or your AWS environment.
Multi-PSP Support
Enterprise Amazon Connect deployments typically serve multiple business units, brands, or regions, each with their own PSP relationship. Shuttle supports this.
With 40+ PSP integrations, you can route transactions to different gateways based on:
Merchant identity: different business units use different PSPs
Region: UK transactions to Worldpay, European transactions to Adyen, US transactions to Stripe
Failover: if the primary gateway is down, transactions automatically route to a backup
Card type: route Amex differently from Visa/Mastercard
Switching processors later is straightforward, gateway choice is configuration, not a re-integration. One caveat for voice specifically: a small number of gateways (for example Braintree) don't permit raw card data to be passed to them, so they don't work for voice capture, though they do work for payment links.
PCI Compliance
Shuttle is a PCI DSS Level 1 certified Service Provider, the highest level of certification in the payment card industry.
Because the card is captured in the secure Twilio Pay call, your PCI scope can drop to SAQ-A: the lightest self-assessment questionnaire. This is because:
Card data never enters your AWS environment
Card digits never reach Amazon Connect recordings
Call recordings contain no cardholder data
Contact Lens and other analytics tools process no card information
Your agents never hear, see, or handle card numbers
Compare this to the alternative: building custom Lambda functions that process card data puts your entire Amazon Connect instance, your AWS account, your network, and your agent workstations in scope for SAQ-D: 300+ requirements, annual QSA audits, and significant ongoing compliance costs.
The cost difference between SAQ-A and SAQ-D compliance is typically six figures annually. Voice payments cost $0.20 per successful transaction with no setup fees, no per-seat fees, and no monthly minimums. Payment links are currently free (a new pricing model is coming). Full compliance documentation is in the security docs.
Use Cases
Insurance Premium Collection
Insurance contact centres handle thousands of premium payments daily. Customers call to renew policies, adjust cover, or make one-off payments. With Shuttle on an Amazon Connect operation, agents collect payments mid-call without breaking the conversation, with no PCI exposure.
Utility Bill Payments
Utility companies running Amazon Connect can add secure bill payment to their agent flows. Customers call about a query, the agent resolves it, and payment happens on the same call.
Debt Collection
Collections agencies need to capture payment commitments while the debtor is engaged. Transferring to a separate system loses the moment. Shuttle allows agents to take immediate payment or set up payment plans during the collection call, all PCI-compliant.
Travel and Hospitality
Travel companies processing bookings, upgrades, and ancillary purchases through Amazon Connect can capture payment at the point of commitment. The customer confirms, enters their card via keypad, and the booking is confirmed in one call.
What to Expect
Shuttle is a payment layer you connect to your stack, not a pre-packaged Amazon Connect plugin. Here is the honest detail so there are no surprises on the call:
It runs on Twilio Pay today. Shuttle's voice capture uses Twilio Pay, where Shuttle is the certified payment connector, so you need to be a Twilio customer. A carrier-agnostic version that removes the Twilio requirement is on our roadmap for later in 2026.
You build a small integration, not a payment system. Shuttle ships the secure PCI capture, IVR, payment links, and payment APIs. What it does not ship is an out-of-the-box agent screen, the input UX, or the amount-passing API call for Amazon Connect specifically. So you build that minimal glue: pass the amount to Shuttle via its API (the minimum data we need), connect the capture into your Amazon Connect call flow over Twilio, and add your own agent screen if your workflow needs one. It is light, and customers running Amazon Connect have already done it.
A native Amazon Connect integration is available as a paid project. If you would rather not build the integration yourself, we can build one for your deployment with you.
Point-of-payment capture is what is live. Securely capturing the card at the moment of payment works today. Shuttle staying present across the entire conversation, or handing the caller back to the same agent afterwards, is part of the fuller call control coming with the carrier-agnostic version.
Payment links are the most turnkey path and need the least build. Many teams start there and add voice capture later.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Shuttle have a native Amazon Connect integration?
Not today. Shuttle's voice capture runs on Twilio Pay (we're Twilio's preferred payments partner), and you invoke that setup rather than installing a Shuttle app in Amazon Connect. You'll need to be a Twilio customer and to build a small integration on your side (pass the amount to Shuttle's API and wire the secure capture into your call flow over Twilio), which customers running Amazon Connect have already done. We can build a native Amazon Connect integration as a paid project if you'd rather not build it yourself, and a carrier-agnostic version is on our roadmap.
Does this require Twilio?
Yes, today. The secure card capture runs via Twilio Pay, where Shuttle is the certified payment connector. The carrier-agnostic version that removes this requirement is on our roadmap.
Can we just use payment links instead of voice capture?
Yes. Many teams use links only, sent via SMS or email, including mid-call. Links are the most turnkey part of Shuttle and work with gateways that don't support voice capture.
Can I use Shuttle with Amazon Connect's AI features?
Because card data is captured in the Twilio Pay call and never enters your AWS environment, Contact Lens can continue processing call recordings without PCI concerns. The card capture itself runs via Twilio Pay, not inside Connect.
What happens if the payment fails?
The agent sees the decline reason in real time and can prompt the customer to retry with a different card or payment method.
Is there a per-seat or per-agent fee?
No. Shuttle charges $0.20 per successful transaction with no setup fees, no per-seat fees, and no monthly minimums. You pay only for successful payment captures. Payment links are currently free.
Related Reading
PCI-Compliant Payments for Contact Centres, the complete guide to secure contact centre payments
Twilio Pay Connectors, how Shuttle works with Twilio's payment infrastructure
Voice Payments, the definitive guide to taking payments over voice channels
AI Voice Agent PCI Payments, adding payment capture to AI-powered voice agents
Voice Checkout, Shuttle's voice payment product
Get Started
Shuttle adds PCI-compliant payments to an Amazon Connect operation via Twilio, with multi-PSP routing and no gateway lock-in. We'll walk you through what's live today and the path for your setup.
Talk to our team about adding secure payment capture to your Amazon Connect deployment, or explore Voice Checkout to see how it works.