CRED to roll out payment checkout terminals to merchants this year

Fintech major CRED is set to roll out checkout terminals to large lifestyle merchants such as supermarkets, quick-service restaurants, salons, fashion, and other retailers after the company completed trials for these devices.

The terminals will come in different forms, ranging from pocket-sized devices to kiosks that will enable merchants to offer targeted rewards for specific types of users, cards, and transactions.

The devices will be interoperable, and UPI users can pay through the checkout terminals using any application.

CRED said large merchants operating in categories such as fashion and dining can apply for the CRED Dynamic QR (quick-response) devices that are powered by Pine Labs and Razorpay POS.

“CRED checkout terminals enable merchants to engage with affluent customers by offering a premium and rewarding experience for high-value payments, not just credit card bills. Members enjoy rewards regardless of whether they are paying on a credit card or UPI,” CRED executive Akshay Aedula said.

Once rolled out, CRED's devices will rival others in the same category including those offered by point-of-sale (PoS) players such as Pine Labs and Mswipe.

Similarly, the company’s announcement comes days after two other fintechs, namely BharatPe and Paytm, announced the launch of new soundboxes.

For instance, Paytm has deployed over ten million soundboxes in the Indian market.

Along similar lines, PhonePe has deployed over four million "SmartSpeakers" and plans to add ten million devices by the end of this year.

A larger network of soundboxes not only enables fintechs with wider coverage among merchants but also adds to their revenues with the help of subscriptions or recurring monthly device fees.

A Bank of America Securities report published in June last year said that the target market for soundboxes is 25 million medium-sized small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and 15-17 million smaller SMEs.