If your contact centre uses Cresta, for an insurance sales operation, a financial services collections team, a SaaS retention organisation, or an outsourced sales BPO, you've probably already met the payment gap. Cresta makes your agents better. It surfaces real-time coaching, suggests next-best responses, and detects intent and sentiment as the conversation unfolds. But when a customer says "I'd like to pay," Cresta's AI doesn't capture cards, and the underlying CCaaS that Cresta sits on top of usually doesn't either.
Cresta works alongside Talkdesk, Genesys, Five9, Webex Contact Centre, and other major CCaaS platforms. The AI runs in real time across both human-agent calls and automated voice flows. What Cresta doesn't handle, and isn't built to handle, is the secure card-capture moment. That's a separate problem, and it's where most Cresta customers end up either reading numbers into recordings, redirecting to external IVRs, or running single-PSP add-ons that lock them to one acquirer.
This guide is for merchants running Cresta on top of a CCaaS platform, and for solution providers and Cresta partners deploying Cresta for clients. It covers how Shuttle adds PCI-compliant payment capture to Cresta-powered operations, what that involves today, and why card data stays out of Cresta's transcripts.
The Payment Gap Around Cresta
Cresta is purpose-built for real-time conversation intelligence and agent coaching. It is not a payment platform, and here are the gaps for businesses taking payments on Cresta-powered calls:
Cresta sits on the AI layer, not the telephony layer. Cresta surfaces coaching cues and intent detection in real time, but it doesn't route calls or capture DTMF. Card capture has to happen elsewhere.
The CCaaS underneath usually doesn't capture cards either. Talkdesk, Genesys, Five9, and Webex CC all face the same payment gap, see the contact centre payments guide for platform-specific detail.
Single-PSP add-ons miss the multi-tenant case. Cresta is heavily used by enterprise sales teams, BPOs, and outsourced contact centres where each business unit may have its own acquirer. Single-gateway integrations don't fit.
Cresta AI cannot execute a card transaction. Cresta's value is in the coaching and analysis layer. The agent still needs a secure mechanism to capture and settle the card. Cresta can detect that a payment is about to happen; it cannot make the payment safe.
Recording and transcription pose PCI risk. Cresta processes call transcripts in real time. If card numbers are spoken aloud, they end up in transcripts and recordings, dragging Cresta-adjacent infrastructure into PCI scope.
How Shuttle Adds Payments to Cresta
Shuttle adds PCI-compliant card capture to your Cresta 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 Cresta recordings, transcription, or your agents. Shuttle customers already take payments this way on Cresta-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 Cresta 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 Cresta call flow over Twilio, and add your own agent screen if your workflow needs one. Customers running Cresta 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 Cresta's transcripts, coaching outputs, or the CCaaS recordings, because the card data never enters that pipeline. See the Twilio IVR & Agent Assist payment docs for the technical flow.
Cresta-triggered payment cues
Cresta's real-time intent detection can flag the moment the customer is ready to pay. The agent sees the cue in the Cresta UI, then triggers a Shuttle payment action from the agent interface you've built against Shuttle's APIs. Cresta detects intent, the agent confirms, Shuttle handles the secure capture via Twilio Pay.
Payment Links
This is the most turnkey path. For outbound sales follow-ups, agreed payment plans, or customers who can't enter card details on the phone, Shuttle generates payment links with the agreed amount and sends them via SMS or email, including mid-call. Status posts back to the agent's screen. 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 Cresta, 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 Cresta have already built this. There is more in the "What to Expect" section below.
How a voice payment works
The call proceeds on your CCaaS as normal. Cresta continues coaching and analysing the surrounding conversation.
Payment is triggered from your agent interface when the customer is ready to pay, often cued by Cresta's intent detection.
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, never reaching Cresta.
Transaction is processed. Shuttle routes to the configured PSP, any of 30+ supported gateways, then tokenises before any return to your systems.
Result returned to your interface and your systems via webhook.
No card data in Cresta. Cresta transcripts, coaching outputs, and analytics never contain card numbers.
Multi-PSP Support
Shuttle is gateway-agnostic. We connect to 40+ PSPs, including Stripe, Adyen, Worldpay, Checkout.com, Braintree, Authorize.Net, GlobalPayments, FreedomPay, FIS, Elavon, Fiserv, and most regional acquirers. You can route transactions based on currency, region, business unit, or tenant, useful for enterprise Cresta deployments running BPO models or multi-brand operations.
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.
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).
PCI Compliance
Shuttle is a PCI DSS Level 1 certified Service Provider. Because the card is captured in the secure Twilio Pay call, cardholder data stays out of the Cresta pipeline entirely:
Card digits are captured directly into Shuttle's certified environment, then tokenised before any return to your systems. They are never recorded, never transcribed, never reach Cresta's transcript stream.
Cresta transcripts, coaching outputs, and analytics never contain card numbers. Your PCI scope, and Cresta's, stays narrow on the lighter SAQ-A path.
Audit trails, settlement reports, and reconciliation are available via Shuttle's reporting layer.
For Cresta customers in regulated verticals, financial services, insurance, healthcare, sales BPOs handling regulated products, Shuttle is built to keep certified scope tight without disrupting the AI coaching layer. Full compliance documentation is in the security docs.
For Solution Providers and Cresta Implementation Partners
If you're a Cresta partner or SI deploying Cresta on top of Talkdesk, Genesys, Five9, Webex CC, or other CCaaS for clients, Shuttle is the payment layer you can add via a Twilio-based setup. We support white-label deployment, multi-PSP routing across your client portfolio (each client keeps their preferred acquirer), and partner-friendly commercials. Shuttle is a Pay Connector provider on the Twilio Marketplace. A native Cresta integration can be built as a paid project. For partnership conversations, book a discovery call.
Use Cases
Insurance Sales and Renewal
Insurance teams using Cresta for sales coaching can settle premium payments and renewals during the call itself. Cresta surfaces the moment to ask for the card, Shuttle handles the secure capture.
Sales BPOs and Outsourced Sales Teams
Sales BPOs deploying Cresta on top of Talkdesk or Five9 for client work can take payments inside the call, with multi-PSP routing per client account.
Collections and Recovery
Collections teams using Cresta for tone-aware coaching during recovery calls can take agreed payment plans during the call, with payment links as fallback.
SaaS Retention and Upsell
SaaS retention teams using Cresta for in-call coaching can take credit card details for plan upgrades or payment-method updates without breaking the call flow.
What to Expect
Shuttle is a payment layer you connect to your stack, not a pre-packaged Cresta 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 Cresta 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 Cresta call flow over Twilio, and add your own agent screen if your workflow needs one. It is light, and customers running Cresta have already done it.
A native Cresta 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 Cresta 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 Cresta or its underlying CCaaS. 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 Cresta have already done. We can build a native Cresta 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.
Does Shuttle affect Cresta's transcripts or coaching?
No. Cresta continues transcribing and coaching throughout the conversation. Because the card is captured in the separate Twilio Pay call, transcripts and coaching outputs never contain cardholder data, while the conversational context around the payment moment is preserved.
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 we try it before committing?
Yes. You can build a proof of concept against Shuttle's sandbox gateway and demo app to see the IVR flow, then move to a compatible production gateway when you're ready.
What does Shuttle cost?
$0.20 per successful transaction for voice, with no per-seat fees, so cost scales with payment volume not headcount. Payment links are currently free.
Related Reading
PCI-Compliant Payments for Contact Centres, the platform-by-platform merchant + SI guide
Talkdesk Payments, common CCaaS underneath Cresta
Genesys Payments, common CCaaS underneath Cresta
Five9 Payments, common CCaaS underneath Cresta
AI Voice Agent PCI Payments, for AI-led contact centres
Twilio Pay Connectors, Shuttle's multi-gateway Pay Connector
Voice Payments, comprehensive voice payment capture guide
Get Started
Shuttle adds enterprise-grade, PCI-compliant payment capture to a Cresta-powered operation via Twilio, without changes to Cresta's coaching layer, your CCaaS configuration, or your agent training, and across multiple PSPs.
If you take payments in a contact centre, see how Shuttle works for merchants, or book a discovery call to walk through your specific Cresta + CCaaS deployment.