Parloa is an AI Agent Management Platform for contact centres. Enterprise teams in financial services, utilities, retail, and healthcare use it to automate voice and chat conversations end to end, with AI agents that resolve queries, qualify callers, and complete transactions without an agent in the loop.
When a conversation needs a payment, Parloa has a native Payment Skill. Mid-call, the AI agent hands off to Parloa's own PCI-DSS-compliant payment subsystem, a deterministic system that sits separate from the language model. The caller enters their card on the keypad via DTMF, the transaction is processed, and the AI resumes the conversation. Parloa says it integrates with existing payment systems so businesses can route transactions through their preferred providers.
So this is not a question of whether Parloa can take payments. It can. The question is when a dedicated, multi-PSP payment layer earns its place alongside it, and how the two compare.
This guide covers what Parloa's Payment Skill gives you, when teams reach for a dedicated payment layer like Shuttle, and how Shuttle adds explicit multi-gateway breadth and PCI DSS Level 1 assurance across any voice or chat stack.
Parloa's Payment Skill: What You Get
Parloa's native payment capability is genuinely useful, and for many deployments it is enough:
DTMF card capture mid-conversation. The AI agent pauses, hands the caller to a deterministic payment flow, and the caller keys in their card details on the phone keypad rather than speaking them aloud.
A subsystem separate from the LLM. Card handling runs in a dedicated payment system, not through the conversational model, which is the right architecture for keeping sensitive data out of AI prompts and logs.
PCI-DSS-compliant processing. Parloa advertises a PCI-DSS-compliant payment system, so card data is handled in a controlled environment rather than passing through the open conversation.
Routing to your preferred providers. Parloa integrates with existing payment systems, so transactions can flow through the processor you already use rather than a single mandated PSP.
If you run one contact centre, one payment provider, and one channel, the native Payment Skill may cover everything you need. The rest of this guide is about the cases where a dedicated payment layer adds something the native skill is not designed to.
When You Need a Dedicated Payment Layer
A separate payment layer like Shuttle becomes worthwhile when payment is a first-class concern in its own right, not just a step inside one platform. Common triggers:
Explicit gateway breadth. You want a documented list of 30+ supported gateways and the freedom to bring your own, rather than relying on whatever integrations are wired up case by case.
Per-client or per-tenant routing. Agencies, BPOs, and platforms that serve many merchants need each client's transactions to settle into that client's own processor and account, with routing decided per tenant.
Enterprise PSP mandates. Larger organisations are often required to process through a specific acquirer or gateway. A payment layer that supports that provider out of the box removes friction.
Stated PCI DSS Level 1 assurance. Procurement and security teams frequently ask for a named certification level. Shuttle is a PCI DSS Level 1 certified Service Provider, which is the highest level and the one large buyers tend to require.
One layer across every stack and channel. If you also run other voice agents, chat agents, IVR, or live agents, a payment layer that works across all of them gives you one integration and one reconciliation flow instead of separate setups per tool.
How Shuttle Adds Multi-PSP Payment Capture
Shuttle is a dedicated payment layer that connects to your Parloa agents and handles the money movement. Here is the flow:
Trigger. Your Parloa agent reaches the payment step in the conversation and calls Shuttle's Voice Checkout.
Secure capture. The caller enters their card via DTMF on the keypad. Digits are captured in Shuttle's PCI-scoped environment, never spoken aloud and never exposed to the AI model or your application.
Route to your gateway. Shuttle routes the transaction to your chosen processor from 30+ supported gateways, selected globally or per client, per tenant, or per merchant.
Confirm and resume. The result returns to your Parloa agent, which confirms the outcome to the caller and continues the conversation naturally.
Reconcile. Funds settle into your own merchant accounts, and the same layer powers payments across any other voice or chat channel you run.
Multi-PSP Support
Shuttle connects to 30+ payment gateways, so you process through the provider you already use rather than switching to a single mandated one:
Stripe
Adyen
Worldpay
Checkout.com
Braintree
Square
Mollie
Bring your own gateway, keep your existing rates and acquirer relationships, and route different clients or business units to different providers from one integration.
PCI Compliance
Shuttle is a PCI DSS Level 1 certified Service Provider, the highest assurance level under the standard.
Card data is captured and processed inside Shuttle's PCI-scoped environment. It never touches your Parloa agent, your application servers, your conversation logs, or your CRM. That separation keeps sensitive cardholder data out of your systems entirely.
The practical benefit is PCI scope reduction. Because raw card data never enters your environment, many businesses can qualify for the lighter SAQ-A self-assessment rather than the far heavier SAQ-D that applies when cardholder data flows through your own systems. That difference can mean weeks of audit work saved and a materially smaller compliance surface.
Beyond Voice: Payment Links
Not every payment needs to complete on the live call. Where a caller would rather pay later, or a chat conversation needs a checkout, Shuttle can send a hosted payment link by SMS or email. The customer pays on a secure page in their own time, and the result reconciles back through the same layer.
This means one integration covers both in-call DTMF capture and asynchronous link-based payments, across voice and chat, with no second system to maintain.
Use Cases
Bill-Pay and Collections
Utilities, financial services, and healthcare callers settle balances and arrears directly in the conversation. Outstanding amounts can be looked up, payment plans confirmed, and cards captured by DTMF, with transactions routed to the right acquirer per business unit.
Outbound Sales
Outbound AI agents that close renewals, upsells, or one-off purchases can take payment at the moment of agreement instead of handing off, which protects conversion on the call where intent is highest.
Order Taking
Retail and hospitality agents handle ordering and reservations and collect payment or deposits in the same flow, with card data kept out of order-management systems.
Customer Support Payments
Support conversations that surface a chargeable action, an upgrade, an excess, or a service fee, can collect payment inline without transferring the caller to a separate line or a human agent.
FAQ
Does Parloa take payments natively? Yes. Parloa has a native Payment Skill: the AI hands off mid-conversation to a PCI-DSS-compliant subsystem that captures the card via DTMF, then resumes the call. It integrates with existing payment systems so you can route to your preferred providers.
Then why add Shuttle? For explicit, documented breadth and assurance. Shuttle gives you 30+ named gateways with bring-your-own-gateway support, per-client and per-tenant routing for agencies and BPOs, a stated PCI DSS Level 1 certification, and one payment layer that works across any voice or chat stack and channel.
**Which payment gateways does Shuttle support?** 30+, including Stripe, Adyen, Worldpay, Checkout.com, Braintree, Square, and Mollie. You can see the full list and bring your own.
**Could we just build multi-PSP routing ourselves?** You could, but maintaining PCI-scoped capture, multiple gateway integrations, per-tenant routing, and Level 1 certification is a significant ongoing engineering and audit cost. Shuttle is $0.20 per transaction with no setup, monthly, or per-seat fees.
Does Shuttle handle outbound payments? Yes. Outbound Parloa agents can capture payment in-call via DTMF, or send a hosted payment link by SMS for the customer to pay later, all through the same layer.
Related Reading
Contact Centre Payments: how payment capture works across contact-centre platforms.
AI Voice Agent PCI Payments: the compliance model for taking cards through AI voice agents.
The Payment Layer for AI Agents: why a dedicated layer sits beneath any agent stack.
Sierra Payments: adding multi-PSP capture to Sierra AI agents.
Cognigy Payments: payment capture for Cognigy voice and chat agents.
Add Payments to Your Parloa Agents
Keep Parloa's native Payment Skill where it fits, and add a dedicated layer where you need gateway breadth, per-client routing, and Level 1 assurance across every channel.
See Voice Checkout | Book a discovery call