Paytm bets big on IoT-driven devices to ease acceptance of payments

Voice-activated point-of-sale machines that work on a SIM card are a hit among small shopkeepers

During a virtual address last October, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to a fruit vendor in Agra named Preeti, who explained to him that a simple device which “speaks out” the amount credited to her account now ensured that “no one can make a fool of us”.
 
While the conversation that day focused on the self-reliance or “aatmanirbhar” pitch of the government, that simple device, Paytm’s Soundbox, is at the centre of the payments company’s Internet-of-Things (IoT) strategy. Simply put, the Soundbox is a voice-activated point-of-sale (PoS) machine that works on a SIM card.
 
Earlier this month, Paytm