Method and apparatus for implementing telephone payments

A communication management system of a merchant/service provider configured to enable implementation of a payment in relation to a telephone call between a customer and the merchant/service provider, the telephone call consisting of a signalling component and a media component, the communication management system comprising:

• a first receiver configured to receive the signalling component of the telephone call, the signalling component having been routed to the communication management system via a payment service system;
• a second receiver configured to receive the media component of the telephone call;
• an interface configured to accept an input indicating that the customer is required to make a payment;
• a processor configured to generate an indication that the customer is required to make a payment;
• and
• a transmitter configured to send the indication to the payment service system.

A payment service system configured to implement a payment in relation to a telephone call between a customer and a merchant/service provider, the telephone call consisting of a signalling component and a media component, the payment service system comprising:

• a first transceiver configured to receive the signalling component of the telephone call, the signalling component having been routed via a payment service system, and to implement onward routing of the signalling component to the merchant/service provider;
• a receiver configured to receive an indication that the customer is required to make a payment from a communication management system of the merchant/service provider;
• a processor configured to, upon receipt of the indication that the customer is required to make a payment, use the signalling component of the telephone call to implement a redirection of the media component of the telephone call via the payment service system, extract payment details of the customer from the redirected media component, and generate a payment request including the payment details;
• and
• a transmitter configured to send the payment request including the payment details to a payment processing system to action the payment.

A method of operating a payment service system configured to implement a payment in relation to a telephone call between a customer and a merchant/service provider, the telephone call consisting of a signalling component and a media component, the method comprising:

• receiving the signalling component of the telephone call, the signalling component having been routed via a payment service system, and implementing onward routing of the signalling component to the merchant/service provider;
• receiving an indication that the customer is required to make a payment from a communication management system of the merchant/service provider;
• upon receipt of the indication that the customer is required to make a payment, using the signalling component of the telephone call to implement a redirection of the media component of the telephone call via the payment service system, extracting payment details of the customer from the redirected media component;
• and
• sending a payment request including the payment details to a payment processing system to action the payment.