Soon, make your card payments through Paytm and Pine Labs soundboxes

The company said the total deployment of all its soundboxes is pegged at 85 lakh devices in the market. Additionally, the company added that it deploys over 12 lakh soundboxes every quarter

Payment soundboxes — the nifty little devices on the counters of scores of small stores and street vendors that relay audio confirmation of payments in their regional language — will soon allow card transactions. On Monday, Paytm and Pine Labs separately launched new soundboxes with the NFC (near field communication) technology that would accept mobile payments with QR codes and card payments across major card networks—from home-grown RuPay to Visa, Mastercard and American Express. 

Paytm’s Rs 999 “Card Soundbox” would rival Pine Labs’ “Mini”, which would come at “nearly one-third of the cost of a regular point-of-sale terminal”.

“We have found that merchants and consumers need card acceptance as simply as mobile payments with Paytm QR Code. The launch of Card Soundbox will go a long way in merging the two requirements of merchants - mobile payments and card payments,” said Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and CEO at Paytm. The latest soundbox follows the launch of two variations — music soundbox and pocket soundbox — in July. 

Pine Labs in a release said “QR-based and card tap payments are a perfect solution for Indian consumers on the go” and that the “price-friendly product” was expected to boost digital payment adoption in India.

None of the new devices offers a swiping functionality which is found in relatively traditional card devices.

Since 2019, payment soundboxes have been gaining traction among merchants to help them confirm payment receipts through audio notifications. Such a device minimises the need for merchants to check their bank accounts or notifications on mobile phones after every transaction. Not just Paytm and Pine Labs, PhonePe and BharatPe, too, have their own soundboxes.

According to Paytm, it has a total of 8.5 million soundboxes in the market, and that it is currently deploying over 1.2 million such devices every quarter. 

PhonePe, too, is getting aggressive in this space. The company said it has deployed around 4 million PhonePe “SmartSpeakers” and plans to add 10 million devices by the end of next year. 

A larger network of soundboxes not only enables these fintechs with a wider coverage among merchants, but also adds to their revenues. 

In its annual report, Paytm said the company earns subscription revenue from merchants who use its payment devices, such as soundboxes and card machines. 

Following its latest soundbox offering, Paytm said the company has two ways in which it will earn its revenue from the device. “We will have two prices — one is a monthly subscription at Rs 100, and another is a lifetime value at Rs 999 (which is the price of the card-based soundbox),” said Ripunjai Gaur, CBO-offline payments at Paytm. 

 Moreover, as competition heats up, companies that have been eyeing to own a significant chunk of the soundbox market share are also placing their bets on new features and innovation. 

“PhonePe SmartSpeakers come with longer battery life, better audio, battery indicator lights, capability to change language with just a click, and a free lifetime replacement warranty. Also, the IP for SmartSpeaker belongs to PhonePe. With the recent launch of a first-of-its-kind celebrity voice feature on PhonePe SmartSpeakers in collaboration with actor Amitabh Bachchan, payment confirmations can be validated in Mr Bachchan’s distinct voice,” PhonePe said. 

Paytm’s music-based soundbox device will enable merchants to play music and listen to match commentary, apart from receiving real-time audio payment confirmations. 

Its pocket soundbox, which is the size of a debit card, works on 4G connectivity, has up to five days of battery backup, features a torch for navigation, and has a lanyard tag. The size of the device makes it possible to carry it everywhere. 

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