How to Connect Paysafe to Twilio for Voice & IVR Payments

Paysafe doesn't natively connect to Twilio for voice payments. If you want to process Paysafe transactions during a phone call (via IVR, agent-assisted, or AI voice agent), you need a Twilio Pay Connector that bridges the two platforms.

Shuttle's Pay Connector does exactly this. It connects Paysafe (and 30+ other gateways) to Twilio's <Pay> verb, so you can accept PCI-compliant card payments during any voice interaction.

This guide walks through how the integration works, how to set it up, and what to watch for.

Why Paysafe + Twilio Don't Connect Directly

Paysafe is a global payments platform with deep roots in North America and Europe. It grew up serving specialised and higher-risk verticals (iGaming, forex, and other regulated industries) and now offers card processing, digital wallets, and alternative payment methods through a single REST API. Merchants who process through Paysafe often chose it precisely because mainstream gateways couldn't support their vertical.

Twilio is built for voice and messaging. Its <Pay> verb captures card details during phone calls via DTMF keypad input, so the digits never reach the agent or the call recording.

The problem: Twilio's <Pay> needs a Pay Connector to route captured card data to a payment gateway. Paysafe isn't one of Twilio's built-in connectors, so there's no native way to send a <Pay> capture to your Paysafe merchant account.

This is where Shuttle comes in. Shuttle provides a Pay Connector that accepts card data from Twilio's <Pay> verb and routes it to Paysafe's API for processing. One integration connects the two platforms. That matters most for the businesses Paysafe typically serves: North American contact centres, collections operations, and merchants in specialised verticals whose Paysafe account took real underwriting effort to obtain. You keep the account. You add the voice channel.

How It Works

Caller → Twilio (DTMF capture) → Shuttle (Pay Connector) → Paysafe (processing) → Result

Caller reaches payment step. Your Twilio call flow (IVR or custom TwiML) triggers the <Pay> verb.
Card details captured via DTMF. The caller enters their card number, expiry, and CVV on the keypad. The digits never reach the agent or the call recording.
Shuttle receives card data. The data passes from Twilio's PCI-compliant environment directly to Shuttle's connector. It never touches your servers.
Shuttle charges the card via Paysafe. The connector creates a Paysafe payment request, processes the transaction through your Paysafe merchant account, and handles the response.
Result returned to your call flow. Your webhook receives the Paysafe transaction reference, last four digits, card brand, and transaction status. The call continues.

The caller stays on the line. No redirects, no "please visit our website."

Step-by-Step Setup

Prerequisites

A Twilio account with voice capability
A Paysafe account with server-to-server API credentials (API key username and password, plus your account number)
A Shuttle account (free to create; see pricing)

Step 1: Install Shuttle's Pay Connector

Go to the Twilio Marketplace and install the Shuttle Pay Connector. This adds Shuttle as an available connector in your Twilio account's Pay configuration.

Step 2: Add Paysafe Credentials to Shuttle

Log into the Shuttle dashboard. Navigate to Payment Profiles and create a new profile:

Gateway: Paysafe
API key username and password: Your server-to-server API key from the Paysafe Back Office (Settings > API Key)
Account number: The Paysafe account ID for the card account you want to process through
Currency: Set your default (USD, CAD, GBP, EUR, etc.)
Environment: Live or Test

Save the profile. Shuttle now has a live connection to your Paysafe account. If you hold separate Paysafe accounts per business line, create a profile for each.

Step 3: Configure Your Twilio Call Flow

Add the <Pay> verb to your TwiML:

<Response>
  <Say>Please enter your card number followed by the hash key.</Say>
  <Pay paymentConnector="shuttle-pay-connector"
       chargeAmount="49.99"
       currency="USD"
       description="Account payment"
       action="/payment-complete">
  </Pay>
</Response>

Key parameters:

paymentConnector: set to shuttle-pay-connector
chargeAmount: the amount to charge
currency: ISO currency code
action: your webhook endpoint for the payment result

Step 4: Handle the Payment Result

Twilio sends a POST to your action URL with the payment result:

{
  "Result": "success",
  "PaymentCardNumber": "xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-1234",
  "PaymentCardType": "visa",
  "PaymentConfirmationCode": "PAYSAFE-TXN-REF-123...",
  "ProfileId": "your-shuttle-profile-id"
}

Use the PaymentConfirmationCode to look up the transaction in the Paysafe Back Office if needed. Update your order, confirm to the caller, and continue the flow.

Step 5: Test

Paysafe provides a dedicated Test environment where transactions run through a simulator rather than the banking network. Use your Paysafe test API key in Shuttle, run the flow end-to-end with Paysafe's published test card numbers, and verify your webhook handling before switching the profile to Live. Never use real card numbers in the Paysafe test environment.

What You Can Do With Paysafe + Twilio

Charge Immediately

Standard auth-and-capture. The caller pays, Paysafe processes, done.

Authorise Now, Settle Later

Place a hold on the card during the call and settle later through Paysafe. Useful for deposits, bookings, or transactions where the final amount isn't fixed at call time.

Tokenise for Future Use

Capture card details once over the phone. Shuttle tokenises the card via Paysafe (which supports converting a payment into a reusable stored credential) and returns a token you can reuse across any channel: web, mobile, voice, or payment links. The card data is never stored in your systems. For collections teams, this is the foundation of payment plans: capture the card on the first call, then charge agreed instalments without asking the customer to re-enter anything.

Agent-Assisted and IVR Collections

Collections is a natural fit for Paysafe + Twilio. Agents trigger <Pay> mid-call for a promise-to-pay, or an outbound IVR lets debtors self-serve a payment at any hour. The digits never reach the agent or the recording, so recordings stay compliant. See payment collection for BPOs for the multi-client version of this setup.

Multi-PSP: Beyond Paysafe

One of the key advantages of using Shuttle rather than a single-gateway connector is flexibility. Your Twilio integration stays the same even if you:

Add a second gateway: put your specialised-vertical merchants on Paysafe and lower-risk merchants on another acquirer
Serve enterprise customers who mandate a specific PSP (Stripe, Worldpay, Checkout.com, etc.)
Want a backup gateway: if one gateway is unavailable, you can move the affected payment types to another connected gateway. There is no automatic failover, and saved cards stay with the gateway that stored them, so repeat payments on stored cards will not run through the second one
Expand to new markets, with each merchant or entity there on its own gateway

You choose which connected provider handles each payment type in Shuttle’s dashboard, per merchant. Your Twilio call flow doesn't change. The <Pay> verb always points to shuttle-pay-connector, and Shuttle sends the payment to the provider you configured.

This is particularly important for BPOs and platforms that serve multiple merchants. Each merchant can use their own Paysafe account (or another supported voice gateway) through the same Twilio integration.

PCI Compliance

The Paysafe + Twilio integration via Shuttle limits your PCI scope:

Layer	PCI handled by
DTMF capture	Twilio
Card data processing	Shuttle (PCI DSS Level 1)
Payment processing	Paysafe (PCI DSS Level 1)
Your systems	Merchants: SAQ-A. Platforms: SAQ-D.

Card data flows from Twilio to Shuttle to Paysafe. Your application only receives redacted data (last 4 digits, card brand, transaction reference). Merchants complete SAQ-A, the lightest PCI self-assessment; platforms complete SAQ-D. Everyone taking card payments has to be PCI compliant, and your acquirer confirms which form applies to you. That's a meaningful saving for contact centres, where taking card numbers verbally would otherwise drag the entire agent floor, telephony stack, and recording system into scope.

For the full picture on PCI compliance with Twilio, see Twilio PCI Compliance: Payments Without Handling Card Data.

FAQ

Can I connect Paysafe to Twilio without Shuttle? Twilio doesn't have a built-in Paysafe Pay Connector. You'd need to build a custom connector using Twilio's Generic Pay Connector framework, which means handling PCI compliance for card data processing yourself. Shuttle provides a pre-built connector that is PCI DSS Level 1 certified.

I'm in a higher-risk vertical. Does that change anything? No. Your underwriting relationship stays with Paysafe, exactly as it is today. Shuttle is the technical connector between Twilio and your existing Paysafe merchant account; it doesn't sit in the money flow or re-underwrite you.

What about Paysafe's test environment? Fully supported. Use your Paysafe test API credentials in Shuttle and test the full flow with Twilio before going live. Paysafe's test environment runs transactions through a simulator, so nothing hits the banking network.

What does it cost? Shuttle charges $49 per live instance per month, plus from $0.20 per transaction, falling with volume, billed through your Twilio account. Paysafe's standard processing fees apply on top.

Can I switch from Paysafe to another gateway later? Yes. Change the gateway in your Shuttle payment profile. Your Twilio call flow stays exactly the same, with no code changes needed. Saved cards stay with the gateway that stored them, so repeat payments on stored cards will not move to the new gateway.

Twilio Pay Connectors: How to Connect Any Compatible Payment Gateway: the complete guide to Twilio Pay Connectors and multi-PSP routing
Twilio PCI Compliance: Payments Without Handling Card Data: how to keep your PCI scope limited
How to Connect Stripe to Twilio for Voice Payments: step-by-step Stripe + Twilio setup
How to Connect Adyen to Twilio for Voice Payments: step-by-step Adyen + Twilio setup
Payment Collection for BPOs: multi-client payment routing for outsourced contact centres
Paysafe on Shuttle: supported features, currencies, and channels
Twilio Pay, Connect Any Compatible Payment Gateway to Twilio: all supported gateways, pricing, and setup

Connect Paysafe to Twilio with Shuttle's Pay Connector: PCI DSS Level 1, $49 per live instance per month, plus from $0.20 per transaction, falling with volume, billed through your Twilio account. Install on Twilio or book a discovery call.

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