NHS Digital & PCI DSS Compliant

Secure payments for NHS and private healthcare

Patients pay securely over the phone for appointments, prescriptions, and treatments. Reception staff never hear or see card data. Fully compliant with NHS Digital standards and PCI DSS Level 1.

Healthcare payment processing challenges

Healthcare providers carry a double compliance burden — NHS Digital data security requirements on top of PCI DSS. Most payment tools weren't designed with either in mind.

Patient payment friction

Patients expect quick, easy payments but healthcare reception staff lack secure tools. Asking patients to read card numbers aloud in waiting areas compromises both security and dignity.

NHS Digital and PCI compliance

Healthcare providers must meet both NHS Digital data standards and PCI DSS requirements simultaneously — a dual compliance burden that generic payment tools can't address. The DSP Toolkit requires you to assess every system that touches card data.

Sensitive patient data

Healthcare environments handle extremely sensitive data. Card details combined with patient records create a high-value target for attackers and a serious liability for the organisation.

Phone payments for appointments

Many patients — particularly older or less mobile patients — prefer to pay by phone. Without a secure phone payment tool, staff end up writing card numbers down or reading them back. That's a compliance failure and a real security risk.

How Paytia solves healthcare payment challenges

DTMF masking technology

Replaces keypad tones in real time as the patient enters their card number. Reception staff stay on the call and see payment progress on screen — they never hear or see any card data.

Supports your DSP Toolkit submission

NHS organisations must complete the Data Security and Protection Toolkit annually, assessing every system that handles sensitive data. Because Paytia removes card data from your network entirely, it reduces the scope of systems you need to assess — simplifying your submission.

24/7 payment availability

Patients can pay outside surgery hours via IVR self-service. That means fewer missed payments and less pressure on reception staff during the morning rush.

Zero card data in your environment

Card data never enters your healthcare environment — not through your phones, your computers, or your network. There's nothing stored, nothing to steal, and nothing that affects your DSP Toolkit or PCI scope.

Simple for reception staff

Browser-based portal that works on any computer. Staff enter the payment amount, the patient keys in their card details on their own phone keypad, and it's done. No specialist training needed.

Works with your existing payment gateway

Process through whatever gateway you already use — Stripe, Worldpay, Barclaycard, and others. You don't need to change your banking or merchant relationships.

Healthcare payment use cases

From GP surgeries to hospital trusts, Paytia covers the phone payment scenarios that come up every day in UK healthcare.

GP surgeries

Collect prescription fees, private GP letter charges, and medical report fees securely over the phone without staff handling card data.

NHS dental practices

Charge for NHS banding fees and private dental treatments in a single call. Patients on both NHS and private courses of treatment handled the same way.

Private physiotherapy and clinics

Many private clinics operate inside NHS settings. Paytia works alongside NHS systems and doesn't require any NHS IT infrastructure.

Hospital friends shops and charities

Hospital retail operations and charitable fundraising can take card payments by phone without any separate PCI compliance programme.

Customer story — optical retail

Eyecare and prescription payments — lessons from Warby Parker

Optical is health retail. Patients call to reorder prescription lenses, check eye exam records, and pay for frames without reading card numbers into a call recording that's sitting in a CRM. It's the same challenge private clinics, opticians, and audiology practices face every day. Take a look at how Warby Parker handles phone payments for prescription eyewear — the same flow works for any healthcare provider taking card-not-present payments over the phone.

Benefits for healthcare providers

Removes card data from your network — reduces DSP Toolkit scope
Reception staff never hear or see card numbers
Works alongside existing NHS and practice management systems
24/7 IVR so patients can pay outside surgery hours
PCI DSS Level 1 certified — audited annually by a QSA
No specialist training — staff are up and running in minutes
Supports payment plans for treatment costs
Full payment reporting for your accounts team

Compliance and certifications

PCI DSS Level 1

The highest level of PCI certification. Paytia is audited annually by a Qualified Security Assessor — so you don't need to be.

NHS Digital compatible

Meets NHS Digital data handling and security standards. Removing card data from your environment directly supports your annual DSP Toolkit submission.

GDPR

Full compliance with UK data protection law. Patient payment data is handled with strict privacy controls — no card data is ever stored in your systems.

Cyber Essentials Plus

UK government-backed certification for cyber security. Assessed and certified annually.

Frequently asked questions

How does Paytia help with our DSP Toolkit submission?+

The NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit requires healthcare organisations to assess every system that handles sensitive data — including card data. Because Paytia processes card payments outside your network entirely, card data never reaches your phones, computers, or systems. That removes it from the scope of your DSP Toolkit assessment, which makes the annual submission significantly more straightforward.

Is Paytia compatible with NHS systems?+

Yes. Paytia runs in a browser alongside whatever practice management or patient record system you already use. It doesn't integrate directly with clinical systems — it sits next to them, which means there's no IT project and no NHS approval process needed to get started.

Can patients pay outside surgery hours?+

Yes. Paytia's IVR self-service option lets patients pay 24/7 without staff involvement. This is useful for prescription charges, outstanding balances, and appointment deposits where patients call back after hours.

How do reception staff use the system?+

Staff access a simple browser-based portal from any computer. They enter the payment amount, the patient keys in their card details on their own phone keypad, and the payment completes. Staff see progress on screen but never hear or see any card data. Most staff are confident using it after a single 20-minute walkthrough.

Does it work with our existing payment gateway?+

Paytia works with most payment gateways — Stripe, Worldpay, Barclaycard, Adyen and others. You keep your existing merchant account and banking relationships; we just sit in front as the secure collection layer.

We're an NHS dental practice — can we use Paytia for both NHS and private charges?+

Yes. There's no separation needed between NHS banding fees and private treatment charges. You simply enter the amount for each patient and they pay securely over the phone — the same process regardless of whether it's an NHS or private charge.

Ready to take card data out of your healthcare environment?

GP surgeries, NHS trusts, dental practices, and private clinics use Paytia to collect phone payments without touching card data — and without a complex IT project.