If your contact centre uses Observe.AI — for a financial services collections operation, a healthcare revenue-cycle team, an insurance servicing organisation, or an outsourced support BPO — you've probably already met the payment gap. Observe.AI's voice agents and agent assist tools transcribe, analyse, score, and coach in real time across every call. But when a customer says "I'd like to pay," neither Observe.AI nor the CCaaS underneath it has a native, PCI-compliant way to capture their card.
Observe.AI sits across the conversation layer — voice AI agents handling automated flows, agent assist coaching live agents in real time, post-call quality monitoring, and conversation intelligence for compliance and coaching. The platform integrates with Genesys, Five9, NICE CXone, Avaya, Talkdesk, Twilio, Cisco, and other major CCaaS environments. What Observe.AI doesn't do, and isn't built to do, is the secure card-capture moment.
This guide is for merchants running Observe.AI on top of a CCaaS platform, and for solution providers and Observe.AI partners deploying Observe.AI for clients. It covers how Shuttle adds PCI-compliant payment capture to Observe.AI-powered operations, what that involves today, and why card data stays out of Observe.AI's analysis pipeline.
The Payment Gap Around Observe.AI
Observe.AI is a voice AI and conversation intelligence platform. Card capture is a separate problem, and here are the gaps for businesses taking payments on Observe.AI-powered calls:
Observe.AI sits on the AI/analytics layer, not telephony. The platform analyses conversations, surfaces insights, and runs voice AI agents, but card capture has to happen elsewhere.
The CCaaS underneath usually doesn't capture cards either. Genesys, Five9, NICE CXone, Talkdesk, Avaya all face the same payment gap — see the contact centre payments guide for platform-specific detail.
Voice AI cannot execute card transactions safely. Observe.AI voice agents handle conversational flows — intent recognition, routing, scheduling, FAQ. Capturing a card during a fully autonomous voice AI call requires a PCI-compliant payment layer the AI can hand off to.
Recording and transcription pose PCI risk. Observe.AI processes recordings and transcripts in real time and post-call. If card numbers are spoken aloud, they end up in transcripts and analytics, dragging Observe.AI-adjacent infrastructure into PCI scope.
Single-PSP add-ons miss the multi-tenant case. BPOs and outsourcers running Observe.AI across multiple end-clients each have different acquirer relationships. Single-gateway integrations don't fit.
How Shuttle works with an Observe.AI operation today
Let's be straight about the model, because it determines whether Shuttle is a fit:
There is no native Observe.AI integration today. Shuttle's voice payment capture runs on Twilio Pay (Shuttle is Twilio's preferred payments partner). You invoke that Twilio-based setup; you do not install a Shuttle app inside Observe.AI or its underlying CCaaS. Shuttle does not plug into Observe.AI's own transcript or analytics pipeline.
You need to be a Twilio customer to use voice payments.
You need technical resource to implement it. Shuttle is a self-service, developer-oriented solution. Shuttle provides ready-made interfaces for payment links and the PCI-compliant capture, IVR, and APIs for voice — but you build the agent-side interface for your own setup, because every contact-centre platform is different.
A native Observe.AI integration is possible as a paid project. We can build one for your deployment at a project cost.
Carrier-agnostic is on the roadmap. A version that removes the Twilio requirement is coming; today, Twilio is the live path.
If you have the technical resource and are (or can be) a Twilio customer, here is how the pieces fit together.
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 Observe.AI's transcripts, voice agent flows, quality scoring, or coaching outputs, because the card data never enters that pipeline. See the Twilio IVR & Agent Assist payment docs for the technical flow.
Voice AI payment handoff
For autonomous Observe.AI voice agent calls, the payment moment is a handoff: the AI agent confirms intent and amount, then hands off to Shuttle's secure Twilio Pay capture. The AI never touches cardholder data. This is the handoff pattern via Shuttle's APIs, which you wire into your own voice AI flow rather than relying on a pre-built connector.
Payment Links
This is the most turnkey path. For outbound recovery, 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 into the case for the agent's reference. Links work even with gateways that don't support voice capture. See the Payment Links docs.
Agent experience
For voice, the agent (or AI flow) triggers the capture and sees the result without ever handling card data — but the agent-facing screen for your Observe.AI workflow is something you build against Shuttle's APIs (it can be prototyped quickly). Shuttle does not ship a pre-built agent widget for Observe.AI today.
How a voice payment works
The call proceeds on your CCaaS as normal. Observe.AI continues transcribing, scoring, and coaching the surrounding conversation.
Payment is triggered from your agent interface, or via handoff from an autonomous voice AI flow, 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, never reaching Observe.AI.
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 Observe.AI. Observe.AI transcripts, voice agent flows, quality scoring, and coaching outputs never contain card numbers.
One honest caveat: the secure capture at the point of payment is what's live now (via Twilio Pay). Shuttle being present for the entire conversation, or cleanly returning the caller to the same agent and call afterwards, is not yet turnkey — that fuller call control is where the carrier-agnostic version, landing later in 2026, is headed.
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 BPO client, useful for enterprise Observe.AI deployments where each tenant or brand has its own acquirer.
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 Observe.AI 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 Observe.AI's transcript stream.
Observe.AI transcripts, voice agent flows, quality scoring, and coaching outputs never contain card numbers. Your PCI scope, and Observe.AI's, stays narrow on the lighter SAQ-A path.
Audit trails, settlement reports, and reconciliation are available via Shuttle's reporting layer.
For Observe.AI customers in regulated verticals — financial services, insurance, healthcare, BPOs handling regulated products — Shuttle is built to keep certified scope tight without disrupting the voice AI and analytics layer. Full compliance documentation is in the security docs.
For Solution Providers and Observe.AI Implementation Partners
If you're an Observe.AI partner or SI deploying Observe.AI on top of Genesys, Five9, NICE CXone, Talkdesk, Avaya, 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 Twilio's official payment partner. A native Observe.AI integration can be built as a paid project. For partnership conversations, book a discovery call.
Use Cases
Financial Services Collections
Collections teams using Observe.AI for tone-aware coaching during recovery calls can settle agreed payment plans during the call. Multi-PSP routing handles different agency-of-record arrangements.
Healthcare Revenue Cycle
Healthcare revenue-cycle teams using Observe.AI for compliance-aware quality monitoring can take patient payments during billing calls without exposing PHI or cardholder data to the analytics pipeline.
Insurance Premium and Renewal
Insurance servicing teams using Observe.AI can take premium payments and renewals during inbound enquiries or outbound nudges. Voice AI agents can handle the conversational flow; Shuttle handles the secure capture.
BPO and Outsourced Contact Centres
BPOs running Observe.AI across multiple end-clients can route payment transactions to each client's preferred acquirer, with per-tenant configuration and clean settlement separation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Shuttle have a native Observe.AI 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 Observe.AI or its underlying CCaaS. You'll need to be a Twilio customer and to build the agent-side interface for your workflow. We can build a native Observe.AI integration as a paid project, 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.
Will Shuttle work with Observe.AI's voice AI agents?
For autonomous voice AI flows, the payment moment is a handoff — the AI confirms amount and intent, Shuttle handles the secure capture via Twilio Pay, then control returns to the AI. The AI never touches cardholder data. You wire this handoff into your flow using Shuttle's APIs.
Does Shuttle affect Observe.AI's transcripts or quality scoring?
No. Observe.AI continues transcribing, scoring, and analysing the surrounding conversation. Because the card is captured in the separate Twilio Pay call, transcripts and quality outputs never contain cardholder data.
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.
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
Genesys Payments — common CCaaS underneath Observe.AI
Five9 Payments — common CCaaS underneath Observe.AI
NICE CXone Payments — common CCaaS underneath Observe.AI
AI Voice Agent PCI Payments — for AI-led contact centres
Twilio Pay Connectors — Shuttle as Twilio's official payment partner
Voice Payments — comprehensive voice payment capture guide
Get Started
Shuttle adds enterprise-grade, PCI-compliant payment capture to an Observe.AI-powered operation via Twilio, without changes to Observe.AI's analytics 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 Observe.AI + CCaaS deployment.