On Thursday, Google announced that the company is all set to roll out its SoundPod, which is a portable speaker designated to instantly validate and announce successful payments, to small merchants across the country in the coming months.
Google SoundPod Launch In India
Google Pay appears to be expanding in India and why not as the company is among the mobile payment market leaders in the country.
But, the sensation is different in the U.S as the firm winds down some of its payments apps there.
When it comes to the SoundPod, the company began a limited trial last year which received positive feedback during the testing.
It also helped merchants in reducing the checkout time, said Ambarish Kenghe, the VP of Products for Google Pay, in a blog post.
Domestically, these miniature jukeboxes, colloquially dubbed “soundboxes” witnessed a wide adoption in India.
This has also enabled the merchants in finding respite upon receipt of remuneration and contesting any illegitimate claims.
Facing Its Rivals
So far, the soundbox market is presently dominated by the Financial services firm Paytm.
PhonePe is also not behind as it is increasingly expanding its device.
At present, More than 20 million merchants in India are already using one of these boxes.
This cost about $18 to $20 according to industry insiders’ estimate.
But we can not deny that Paytm is currently “fighting for its survival” as it navigates regulatory clampdown, incidentally.
Initially, these sound boxes were introduced in order to serve small Indian merchants.
They were unable to afford regular point-of-sale devices while accepting UPI payments.
Here, UPI is a payments network built by a coalition of retail banks in India.
Interestingly, it has become the most popular way for payments in India.
It has become more popular to the extent that Visa, Mastercard and Amex combined last year prompted the payment giants to look at ways to take advantage of their reach.
The payment method has also evolved into a lucrative subscription model over time considering the fact that various players impose subscription charges on merchants.
Services Beyond Auditory Alerts
The upcoming soundbox has the real allure as it extends beyond its auditory alerts, said one industry insider.
Further adding that it provides invaluable insights into merchant behaviors, facilitating the offering of loans based on this data.
When it comes to pricing, Google Pay is offering the SoundPod at a minimal cost.
It is levying a one-time fee of Rs 1499 for one year, or a one-time fee of Rs 5 per day for 25 days in a month.
The company said merchants who use SoundPod to process 400 payments in a month will get cashback as well.
