Nextiva is a unified communications and contact centre platform (UCaaS plus CCaaS) that positions itself around "Unified Customer Experience Management." It pulls voice, chat, SMS and contact centre workflows into one stack and is widely used across SMB and mid-market teams. The telephony is Nextiva-native, so if your agents handle inbound and outbound calls, Nextiva is often already the system of record for those conversations.
On payments, the posture is precise and worth getting right. Nextiva is explicitly not a credit card processor: its own documentation states "We are not a credit card processor, you still use your bank's credit card processing service." What Nextiva does provide is a native Secure Payment Agent Assist (SPAA) capability, a PCI-descope capture tool that routes a caller through a secure IVR so card data never reaches the agent. That is a real, useful native feature, and this guide treats it as such.
If you are a merchant using Nextiva, or a System Integrator or reseller implementing it for clients, this guide covers what SPAA gives you and when a multi-PSP payment layer across voice, chat and payment links fits better, particularly for agencies, BPOs and multi-brand operators who need to route to many gateways rather than one.
Nextiva's Secure Payment Agent Assist: What You Get
SPAA (also surfaced as Advanced IVR Credit Card Payment) is a genuine PCI-descope tool. When a caller is ready to pay, the agent clicks "CC Pay" and the caller is routed to a secure IVR. The caller enters their card number, expiry and CVV using their phone keypad (DTMF touch-tone). The agent cannot see or hear those digits. The encrypted card data is transmitted to the merchant's existing payment gateway, a confirmation returns, and the caller reconnects to the agent to finish the conversation.
Nextiva states that SPAA / Advanced IVR Credit Card Payment is PCI DSS Level 1 compliant. Because the agent never touches the card data, it keeps spoken card numbers out of call recordings and reduces the cardholder data environment the agent workstation sits in. For a single-merchant, voice-only payment flow that points at one gateway, SPAA does the core job well.
The two things to note are scope, not quality: SPAA is voice and IVR only, and it routes to one merchant gateway. That is the right design for most single-brand operators. It becomes a constraint when you need multiple gateways or payment on channels beyond the phone.
When a Multi-PSP Layer Helps
A multi-PSP payment layer like Shuttle is the better fit when one of these is true:
You run an agency, BPO or multi-brand operation and need per-client or per-tenant routing. SPAA points at one gateway. If you collect on behalf of many clients, each with their own acquirer or merchant account, you need to route each transaction to the right gateway automatically.
You take payments on more than voice. Customers pay over chat, SMS and hosted payment links, not just on the phone. A single layer that covers voice DTMF capture, in-chat payment, and links keeps one reconciliation flow instead of separate tools per channel.
You want gateway choice. Shuttle connects to 40+ payment gateways with bring-your-own-gateway support, so you keep your existing acquirer and pricing rather than being tied to a single processor relationship.
How Shuttle Adds Payment Capture to Nextiva
You keep Nextiva as your communications and contact centre platform. Nothing changes about how agents handle calls and chats.
Shuttle connects to your existing payment gateway (or several), so funds settle to your own merchant account with no change to your acquirer.
During a live call, the agent triggers a secure DTMF capture: the caller keys their card in, the agent never sees or hears it, and the digits are suppressed from recordings.
For chat, SMS or follow-up, Shuttle generates a hosted payment link the customer completes themselves on a PCI-compliant page.
Confirmation returns in real time and the transaction reconciles back to the right client or brand, with per-tenant routing for agencies.
How It Works
Agent workflow
The agent stays in the conversation the whole time. When the customer is ready to pay, the agent starts a secure payment session. For voice, the caller is prompted to enter card details by keypad while the agent waits on the line; the digits are masked from the agent and from the recording. For chat or email follow-up, the agent sends a payment link in one click. The agent sees only a success or failure status, never the card data.
Customer experience
The customer never leaves the channel they started in. On a call, they key their card in privately and return to the agent once payment clears. In chat, they tap a link and pay on a branded, secure page. The flow feels native to the conversation, with no transfer to a separate phone line or external portal.
Multi-PSP Support
40+ payment gateways supported, including Stripe, Adyen, Worldpay, Checkout.com, Braintree and Square. See the full list at /psp/.
Bring your own gateway: keep your existing acquirer, merchant account and negotiated rates.
Per-client and per-tenant routing: send each transaction to the correct gateway automatically, essential for agencies, BPOs and multi-brand operators.
One layer across voice, chat and payment links, so reconciliation stays in a single place.
PCI Compliance
Shuttle is a PCI DSS Level 1 certified Service Provider, the highest level of PCI assurance. Because card data is captured directly by Shuttle and never enters your Nextiva agents' workstations, call recordings or chat transcripts, the PCI scope of your contact centre is reduced.
In practice this can move qualifying merchants from the heavier SAQ-D obligations toward the much lighter SAQ-A, since the sensitive cardholder data environment is descoped to Shuttle's certified infrastructure. Your QSA confirms the exact SAQ that applies to your setup, but the direction of travel is fewer controls to evidence on your side.
Beyond Voice: Payment Links
Not every payment happens on a live call. A customer may want to pay after the conversation, confirm an order by chat, or settle a balance from an SMS. Shuttle generates hosted payment links your Nextiva agents can send in chat, SMS or email. The customer pays on a secure, branded page, and the result reconciles back into the same flow as your voice payments. This is the part SPAA does not cover, and it is often the reason multi-channel operators add Shuttle alongside Nextiva.
For Solution Providers and Nextiva Partners
If you implement Nextiva for clients, payments are a recurring requirement you can own. Nextiva runs a Nextiva Partner Program for channel partners, agents, resellers and MSPs, with a partner portal, plus a Nextiva App Marketplace and integrations catalogue. It is more reseller and channel-oriented than an open developer app store, so payment capability is added through integrations and partner-led delivery rather than self-serve developer apps.
Shuttle is the multi-PSP payment layer you add to Nextiva deployments. For each client you can connect their existing gateway, route per tenant when you serve multiple brands, and deliver voice plus chat plus link payment in one integration. Pricing is $0.20 per transaction with no setup, monthly or per-seat fees, which makes it straightforward to attach to a client engagement and resell without a fixed cost base to recover.
Use Cases
Bill-Pay and Collections
Inbound and outbound calls where customers settle invoices or arrears. Agents take card payments securely on the call, or send a link for the customer to pay later, with full descope.
Order Taking
Sales and service teams capturing card-not-present orders over the phone or in chat, without spoken card numbers landing in recordings.
Account Payments
Subscription, membership and account top-up payments handled mid-conversation, with the customer keying their card privately and returning to the agent.
Multi-Client / Agency Collection
Agencies and BPOs collecting on behalf of many clients, with each transaction routed to the correct client gateway automatically and reconciled per brand.
FAQ
Does Nextiva process payments? No, Nextiva is not a credit card processor and says so directly: you still use your bank's processing service. It does provide a native Secure Payment Agent Assist (SPAA) descope tool that routes card capture through a secure IVR to your existing gateway.
What does Shuttle add over SPAA? SPAA is voice and IVR only and routes to one merchant gateway. Shuttle adds multi-PSP and per-client routing across 40+ gateways, plus payment on chat and hosted links, all in one layer. It suits agencies, BPOs and multi-channel operators rather than single-brand voice-only flows.
**Which gateways does Shuttle support?** 40+ gateways including Stripe, Adyen, Worldpay, Checkout.com, Braintree and Square, with bring-your-own-gateway support. See /psp/.
Does Shuttle work for outbound payments and collections? Yes. Agents can take card payments on outbound calls with DTMF capture, or send a payment link by SMS, chat or email for the customer to pay in their own time.
Will this reduce our PCI scope? Yes. Card data is captured by Shuttle's PCI DSS Level 1 certified infrastructure and never reaches your agents or recordings, which can move qualifying merchants from SAQ-D toward SAQ-A. Confirm your exact SAQ with your QSA.
Related Reading
Contact Centre Payments: the hub guide covering secure payment capture across CCaaS platforms.
Embedded Payments for CCaaS: how payment capture embeds into contact centre workflows.
AI Voice Agent PCI Payments: taking PCI-compliant payments through automated and AI-assisted voice.
Payment Collection for BPOs: multi-tenant collection and per-client gateway routing for outsourcers.
Payments for CCaaS Implementation Partners: adding a payment layer to CCaaS deployments as an SI or reseller.
Take Payments Across Channels in Nextiva
Nextiva's SPAA covers voice descope to a single gateway. If you need multi-PSP routing, per-client collection or payment across voice, chat and links, Shuttle is the layer that fits on top.
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