How to Connect CardConnect to Twilio for Voice & IVR Payments

CardConnect is one of the few gateways Twilio supports natively. Alongside Stripe, Braintree, Base Commerce, Chase Paymentech, and Adyen, Twilio ships a first-party CardConnect Pay Connector for the <Pay> verb. If you process with CardConnect and want to take card payments during phone calls, you have a genuine choice of two integration paths.

This guide covers both: Twilio's native CardConnect connector, and Shuttle's Pay Connector, which supports CardConnect as one of 30+ other gateways. Which one fits depends on how many gateways and merchant accounts you run, and what you need beyond a simple in-call charge.

Two Ways to Connect CardConnect to Twilio

Short version: a single CardConnect account and a straightforward in-call charge or tokenise flow is exactly what the native connector was built for. Multiple gateways or merchant accounts, cross-channel token reuse or enterprise PSP requirements point to Shuttle.

About CardConnect

CardConnect is a Fiserv company built around the CardPointe platform, with a large US merchant base and a strong ISV channel that integrates payments through the CardPointe Gateway API. Its CardSecure service handles tokenisation, storing card numbers in a PCI-compliant vault and returning tokens so merchants keep raw card data out of their systems.

For voice payments, the pieces you need are your CardConnect merchant ID (MID) and API credentials. Both integration paths below use them; the difference is where you configure them.

Path 1: Twilio's Native CardConnect Pay Connector

Twilio's branded CardConnect connector is installed from the Twilio Console. Enable PCI mode on your account, install the connector, give the instance a unique name, and add your CardConnect credentials. Your TwiML then points <Pay> at that connector instance, and Twilio routes captured card data to CardConnect for processing.

A few characteristics to plan around:

• Single gateway. Twilio's native connectors each talk to one gateway. Your CardConnect connector instance processes through CardConnect, full stop.

• Charge and tokenise only. <Pay> exposes chargeAmount, currency, description, and tokenType. There is no refund API and no auth/capture split through Twilio; you handle those directly in CardPointe.

• MOTO treatment. Twilio tags <Pay> payments through its Stripe and CardConnect connectors as MOTO (telephone order) transactions, which are exempt from PSD2's SCA requirements. There is no 3DS flow in <Pay>.

• Billing changed in October 2025. The CardConnect Pay Connector was previously free of Twilio-side fees. Twilio moved it to usage-based per-transaction billing effective 13 October 2025, so factor the per-transaction cost into your comparison rather than assuming the native path is free.

If that shape matches your setup (one CardConnect account, in-call charges or tokenisation, refunds handled in CardPointe), the native connector is a solid, first-party choice.

Path 2: CardConnect via Shuttle's Pay Connector

Shuttle's Pay Connector treats CardConnect as one gateway among 30+. The flow looks like this:

Caller → Twilio (DTMF capture) → Shuttle (Pay Connector) → CardConnect (processing) → Result

Card data passes from Twilio's PCI-compliant environment to Shuttle, a PCI DSS Level 1 Service Provider, which processes the transaction through your CardConnect merchant account. Your systems only ever see redacted results.

Step 1: Install Shuttle's Pay Connector

Install the Shuttle Pay Connector from the Twilio Marketplace. This adds Shuttle as an available connector in your Twilio account's Pay configuration.

Step 2: Add CardConnect as a Payment Profile

In the Shuttle dashboard, create a payment profile with CardConnect as the gateway, using your CardConnect merchant ID and API credentials. Set your default currency and choose the test (UAT) or live environment. If you run multiple merchant accounts, create a profile for each.

Step 3: Point <Pay> at Shuttle

<Response>
  <Say>Please enter your card number followed by the hash key.</Say>
  <Pay paymentConnector="shuttle-pay-connector"
       chargeAmount="49.99"
       currency="USD"
       description="Invoice payment"
       action="/payment-complete">
  </Pay>
</Response>

Step 4: Handle the Result

Your action webhook receives the transaction status, card brand, last four digits, and a confirmation reference you can look up in CardPointe. Confirm to the caller and continue the call flow.

Step 5: Test, Then Go Live

Run the full flow against CardConnect's UAT environment before switching your Shuttle profile to production credentials.

What Shuttle Adds on Top of CardConnect

• Charge and tokenisation. Capture a card once on a call, then reuse the token across channels: another call, a web checkout, or a payment link sent by SMS or email.

• Multi-gateway routing. Keep CardConnect for the merchants it already serves and put other clients on different gateways. The TwiML never changes; provider selection lives in Shuttle’s dashboard.

• Failover. If one gateway has an outage, you can move the affected payment types to another without touching your call flows. There is no automatic failover, and saved cards stay with the gateway that stored them, so repeat payments on stored cards will not run through the second one.

That last group matters most for two audiences. BPOs and outsourced contact centres collecting for many clients can give each client their own gateway and merchant account behind one Twilio integration. And platforms serving enterprise customers often hit PSP mandates, where a customer's procurement team dictates the gateway. A multi-gateway connector absorbs those mandates.

One caveat to note when scoping either path: Twilio Studio's Capture Payments widget is documented as Stripe-only, so plan on TwiML or your own call orchestration rather than Studio for CardConnect flows.

PCI Compliance

Both paths keep card data out of your systems. With Shuttle in the chain, scope splits like this:

Your application only receives redacted data, which heavily reduces your PCI scope. Merchants complete SAQ-A, the lightest PCI self-assessment; platforms complete SAQ-D. Everyone taking card payments has to be PCI compliant, and your acquirer confirms which form applies to you. For the full picture, see Twilio PCI Compliance: Payments Without Handling Card Data.

FAQ

Does Twilio have a native CardConnect Pay Connector? Yes. CardConnect is one of Twilio's branded Pay Connectors, alongside Stripe, Braintree, Base Commerce, Chase Paymentech, and Adyen. It is also available in Twilio's IE1 and AU1 regions.

Is the native CardConnect connector free? Not any more. Twilio moved the CardConnect Pay Connector to usage-based per-transaction billing effective 13 October 2025. It was previously free of Twilio-side fees.

Why use Shuttle if Twilio already supports CardConnect? Multi-gateway flexibility. Shuttle connects CardConnect and 30+ other gateways through one connector, reuses tokens across channels, and routes per merchant or client. If you only ever need one CardConnect account and in-call charges, the native connector is the simpler choice.

Can I take refunds or do auth/capture through Twilio <Pay>? No. <Pay> supports charge and tokenise (chargeAmount, currency, description, tokenType). Refunds and captures happen in your gateway tooling, such as CardPointe.

What about SCA and 3DS on phone payments? Twilio tags <Pay> payments through its Stripe and CardConnect connectors as MOTO (telephone order) transactions, which are exempt from PSD2 SCA. There is no 3DS flow in <Pay>.

What does Shuttle cost? $49 per live instance per month, plus from $0.20 per transaction, falling with volume, billed through your Twilio account. CardConnect's processing fees apply on top.

Can I switch gateways later without changing my Twilio integration? With Shuttle, yes, though saved cards stay with the gateway that stored them. Change the gateway in your payment profile and the <Pay> verb keeps pointing at shuttle-pay-connector. With the native connector, moving off CardConnect means installing and configuring a different connector.

Related Reading

• Twilio Pay Connectors: How to Connect Any Compatible Payment Gateway covers every connector option and multi-PSP routing

• Twilio PCI Compliance: Payments Without Handling Card Data explains how to keep your PCI scope limited

• How to Connect Stripe to Twilio for Voice Payments compares the other native-connector path

• How to Connect Braintree to Twilio for Voice Payments covers Twilio's Braintree option

• CardConnect on Shuttle lists supported features and channels

• Twilio Pay: Connect Any Compatible Payment Gateway to Twilio has all supported gateways, pricing, and setup

Connect CardConnect to Twilio your way: native for a single account, Shuttle for everything else. PCI DSS Level 1, $49 per live instance per month, plus from $0.20 per transaction, falling with volume, billed through your Twilio account. Install on Twilio or book a discovery call.