Paytm said the NFC card soundbox would accept digital payments through scanning QR codes from a user’s phone as well as tapping the bank cards
This new card box has the feature of sending voice prompts of the transaction progress in 11 local Indian languages and it has been pilot tested with merchants from food business around various cities in the country
Also, the device currently has the bandwidth of accepting payments of up to INR 5000 per transaction
Paytm’s parent company One97 Communications has rolled out an upgraded soundbox device to facilitate payments by tapping a debit or credit card or scanning a QR code.
The NFC (near field communication) card soundbox would accept digital payments through scanning QR codes from a user’s phone as well as tapping the bank cards, the company said.
Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said the Paytm
QR card soundbox is an integration of two devices into one, which eases the process of transaction to both the merchant and customers.
This new card box has the feature of sending voice prompts of the transaction progress in 11 local Indian languages and it has been pilot tested with merchants from food business around various cities in the country including Amritsar, Lucknow, Agra, Delhi, Jaipur, Chennai, Bengaluru, Dehradun, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
Sharma also said that this upgraded soundbox device is as affordable as its existing soundbox and available on a monthly rental basis, which starts from INR 150 onwards. The device has the battery capacity of lasting 10 days without having to recharge in between.
However, one of the merchants from Hyderabad, who was a part of the pilot test highlighted the limitation of the device which restricts the card style of payments to tap mode alone. Customers that haven’t activated netbanking will not be able to make payments using their card.
Also, the device currently has the bandwidth of accepting payments of up to INR 5000 per transaction.
At 12:19 PM, shares of Paytm were trading at INR 498.45 apiece on the BSE on Tuesday (July 30), up 1.2% from the previous close.
(The story will be updated soon)
