Some of India’s biggest fintech startups are making deeper inroads into sound boxes, unveiling a new push for pocket-sized devices whose chimes are fast becoming the new “ka-ching” for millions of Indian traders.
Paytm, whose voice box is at the top of the market and is used by over 7 million merchants, has launched an advanced version of the device that also works as a card machine, accepting offers from Rupay, Visa, Mastercard and American Express.
Even though the cards have been in the South Asian market for 30 years, only 4 million stores offer them. In contrast, voice boxes have already made their mark in 8.5 million stores and are on the rise.
Paytm said its new voice box, which is priced at INR 999 ($12), supports 11 languages, features a display and a 2,600 mAh battery that will allow the device to operate for up to 5 days on a single charge.
The voice box, whose bill of materials costs less than $20, quickly became a symbol of digital transactions across retail venues in India. The audible confirmation feature is especially popular in markets and street corners, instilling confidence in both buyers and sellers regarding payment transactions.
Moreover, Voice Box has evolved into a profitable subscription model over time, with companies like Paytm and Walmart-backed PhonePe charging merchants a nominal subscription fee. The real appeal of the Voice Box extends beyond audio alerts – it provides invaluable insights into merchant behaviors, making it easier to make loans based on this data.
The all-in-one Soundbox system “will push payments and consumer choice to the next level,” Rishi Chhabra, vice president and head of merchant sales at Visa, said in a press conference Monday.
“Paytm has always been at the forefront of innovation for small businesses in India, solving their payments and financial services problems,” said Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder and CEO, Paytm. “Today with Paytm Card Soundbox, we are taking it to the next level. We have found that merchants and consumers need to accept card with the same ease of mobile payment using Paytm QR Code.”
This push makes Paytm’s card offering more compelling to fight POS machine offerings from Pine Labs and banks.
Interestingly, Pine Labs, backed by Peak XV and Fidelity, has unveiled a new point-of-sale device, adding a voice box alert system. The startup said its new device costs a third of standard peripherals.
Paytm’s rival, PhonePe, also revealed an update to its voice system, saying that merchants can now receive the notification in the voice of Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan. Reliance, India’s largest company, is also testing an audio device on its campus, TechCrunch reported earlier.