Freshdesk Contact Center (formerly Freshcaller) gives your team cloud voice and a PBX you can provision in-platform, while Freshchat handles messaging and Freshdesk handles ticketing. Bundled as Freshdesk Omni, the Freshworks suite runs the conversations, but it does not process card payments natively. When a customer wants to pay during a call or a chat, you need a separate layer to capture and process that payment securely.
The common route today is a specialist PCI payments app from the Freshworks Marketplace, which uses DTMF masking with a speech fallback so card data is never seen or heard by the agent. That is a solid, well-established option. This guide covers an alternative for merchants who want broader gateway choice: PCI-compliant payment capture for a Freshworks-based operation, with 30+ gateways, bring-your-own-gateway support, and per-client routing, and it explains exactly what that involves with Shuttle today.
It is written for two readers: merchants taking payments inside their Freshworks contact centre, and System Integrators implementing Freshworks deployments who need to add payment capture for their clients.
The Payment Challenge in Freshdesk Contact Center
The moment a customer reads a card number aloud on a Freshcaller call, that data enters your voice path and, if you record calls, your recordings. Both fall inside PCI DSS scope. The same applies to card details typed into a Freshchat thread. Once cardholder data touches your systems, the controls, audits, and evidence required to stay compliant expand sharply.
Freshworks does not capture or process card payments natively, so the contact centre alone cannot handle a transaction end to end. You can keep recordings clean with a tool like the Voicebase PCI redaction app, but redaction after the fact is not the same as taking a payment securely in the first place.
Building a Level 1 compliant payment capability yourself is expensive. Achieving PCI DSS Level 1 certification typically runs into hundreds of thousands of pounds in initial build, often quoted above $500k, with $200k or more in ongoing annual assessment, tooling, and audit costs. For most merchants and SIs, integrating a certified payment layer is the faster and cheaper path. See our explainer on PCI DSS and PCI scope for the underlying detail.
How Shuttle Adds Payments to Freshdesk
Shuttle adds PCI-compliant card capture to your Freshdesk 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 Freshdesk environment or your agents. Shuttle customers already take payments this way on Freshdesk-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 Freshdesk 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 Freshdesk workflow over Twilio, and add your own agent screen if your workflow needs one. Customers running Freshdesk 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.
How It Works
Agent workflow
The agent stays on the Freshcaller call or in the Freshchat conversation throughout. When it is time to pay, the agent triggers the payment, confirms the amount with the customer, and prompts them to pay. On voice, the customer keys their card via the keypad in the secure Twilio Pay call; the agent never receives the digits. In Freshchat, the agent sends a secure payment link. The agent watches for the approved result and confirms it to the customer. No card data is ever read aloud, typed by the agent, or written to a ticket.
Customer experience
On voice, the customer enters their card number, expiry, and security code on their phone keypad in the secure call, guided by the agent. In Freshchat, they complete payment through a secure hosted link. They get an immediate confirmation, the same interaction they expect from any modern contact centre.
Multi-PSP Support
Shuttle is gateway-neutral, which matters most when you process across multiple merchant accounts or clients.
30+ payment gateways supported, including Stripe, Adyen, Worldpay, Checkout.com, Braintree, and Square. See the full list on the payment providers page.
Bring your own gateway. Keep your existing processor and pricing; Shuttle adds the capture layer on top. Switching processors later is configuration, not re-integration.
Per-client routing. Route each client, brand, or merchant account to its own gateway from a single integration, which is essential for BPOs and agencies running many accounts.
One layer across channels. The same payment layer covers Freshcaller voice and Freshchat links, so you are not stitching together separate tools per channel. One caveat for voice specifically: a few 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. Because the card is captured in the secure Twilio Pay call and never enters your Freshworks environment, your contact centre stays out of scope.
In practice this can move your compliance burden from SAQ-D, the most demanding self-assessment questionnaire that applies when you store, process, or transmit card data, toward SAQ-A, the lightest version for merchants who fully outsource cardholder data handling. The exact SAQ that applies depends on your setup, but descoping the contact centre is the single biggest lever. See PCI scope for how this works, and the security docs for the AOC scope.
Beyond Voice: Payment Links
Not every payment happens live on a call, and payment links are the most turnkey path. Shuttle generates hosted payment links your agents can send by SMS, email, or inside a Freshchat thread, including mid-call. The customer pays on a secure hosted page, the result flows back to your records, and no card data touches your systems. Links work even with gateways that do not support voice capture. This covers follow-up balances, deposits, and any case where the customer prefers to pay in their own time. See the Payment Links docs.
For Solution Providers and Freshworks Implementation Partners
Freshworks has one of the strongest partner ecosystems for adding capability to a deployment. The Freshworks Marketplace (freshworks.com/apps) lists apps that extend Freshdesk, Freshcaller, and Freshchat, and the Freshworks Technology Partner Program lets developers and SIs build apps with Freshworks developer tools and list them on the Marketplace for free.
For SIs, Shuttle is the certified payment capture you add to Freshworks deployments via Twilio. You integrate compliant capture into your client's Freshdesk Contact Center and Freshchat workflows, route each client to their own gateway, and deliver PCI-compliant payments without taking on Level 1 build yourself. You build the agent-side interface against Shuttle's APIs once and reuse it across clients, and a native packaged app on the Marketplace is available as a paid project. See our guide for CCaaS implementation partners for the full SI playbook.
Use Cases
Bill-Pay and Collections
Customers settle invoices, overdue balances, or payment-plan instalments live on a Freshcaller call, with the secure Twilio Pay capture keeping the agent and recordings out of scope.
Order Taking and Support Payments
Support agents take payment for an order, upgrade, or add-on without transferring the customer or breaking the conversation.
Account Payments
Account-management teams collect top-ups, renewals, or subscription payments inside the same Freshworks workflow they already use.
Bookings and Deposits
Take a deposit or full booking payment during the call or chat, then send a payment link for any balance due later.
What to Expect
Shuttle is a payment layer you connect to your stack, not a pre-packaged Freshdesk 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 Freshdesk 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 Freshdesk workflow over Twilio, and add your own agent screen if your workflow needs one. It is light, and customers running Freshdesk have already done it.
A native Freshdesk 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.
FAQ
Does Shuttle have a native Freshdesk 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 Freshdesk or Freshcaller. 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 workflow over Twilio), which customers running Freshdesk have already done. We can build a native Freshworks integration, including a Marketplace app, as a paid project, and a carrier-agnostic version is on our roadmap.
Does this require Twilio? Yes, today, for voice. The secure card capture runs via Twilio Pay, where Shuttle is the certified payment connector. Payment links do not require Twilio. The carrier-agnostic version that removes the voice requirement is on our roadmap for later in 2026.
Does Freshdesk process payments natively? No. Freshworks does not capture or process card payments natively. The common route is a specialist PCI payments app from the Freshworks Marketplace, which uses DTMF masking. Shuttle is an alternative if you want 30+ gateways and per-client routing.
How do I take PCI-compliant payments in Freshdesk? Add a certified payment layer like Shuttle via Twilio. During a Freshcaller call the customer enters card details on their keypad in a secure Twilio Pay call, or pays through a secure link in Freshchat. Card data flows to Shuttle's PCI DSS Level 1 environment, never into Freshworks, keeping your contact centre out of scope.
Which payment gateways does Shuttle support? 30+ gateways, including Stripe, Adyen, Worldpay, Checkout.com, Braintree, and Square. You can bring your own gateway and route each client to a different one. Switching gateways later is configuration, not re-integration. See the payment providers page.
Should I build PCI Level 1 capture myself instead? For almost all merchants and SIs, no. A Level 1 build typically exceeds $500k upfront plus $200k or more annually. Integrating a certified layer is faster and far cheaper.
Can I take outbound payments too? Yes. The same secure voice capture works on outbound Freshcaller calls for collections and proactive bill-pay, and you can send payment links for customers to pay after the call.
Related Reading
Contact centre payments: the hub guide covering PCI-compliant payments across every major contact centre platform.
Embedded payments for CCaaS: how the payment layer model works across cloud contact centre platforms.
AI voice agent PCI payments: taking compliant payments through automated and AI-assisted voice.
Payment collection for BPOs: multi-client routing and collections workflows for outsourcers.
Payments for CCaaS implementation partners: the SI playbook for adding payments to contact centre deployments.
Take Payments in Your Freshdesk Contact Center
Add PCI-compliant payment capture to a Freshdesk Contact Center and Freshchat operation via Twilio, with 30+ gateways, bring-your-own-gateway support, and per-client routing. Pricing is $0.20 per successful transaction with no setup, monthly, or per-seat fees, and payment links are currently free. See the pricing page for detail.
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