UPI app wars: PhonePe has the new tech to maintain supremacy over rivals Paytm, GooglePay

Fintech giant Paytm was the first company among its peers to launch Soundbox in 2020 during the pandemic. Now, BharatPe and PhonePe have also joined the race and rolled out their speaker device in February 2022 and July 2022 respectively.

According to a report by brokerage firm CLSA last November, Soundbox contributes 14 per cent of Paytm's gross payment revenue and 38 per cent of net payment revenue. On the other hand, rival PhonePe claims to deploy 20 lakh smart speakers within six months of its launch. The PhonePe device comes with up to four days of battery life, dedicated data connectivity, a battery level LED indicator for convenience, voice alarms for low power levels, and a replay button for the most recent transaction with payment notifications in 11 Indian languages.

How does sound device work for merchants?

A merchant serves several clients at a time. Some people pay with cash, while others use payment applications to scan the quick response (QR) code. But, the shopkeepers are unable to check all the payment confirmations in real time by seeing payment confirmation notifications on customers' phone screens before they leave.

As a result of this, the merchants find out later that the money never made it to their account as the notification on customers' mobile devices indicating the successful completion of the payment was a hoax. To solve this issue, fintech companies like Paytm and later PhonePe and BharatPe have launched soundbox.

Benefits of soundbox

• Saves time for both merchant and customer
• Less risk of spoof payments
• Less chance of missed payments
• Multiple languages
• Staff can manage payment
• Multiple payment modes
• Portability

Meanwhile, tech giant Google is also in the process of launching its own soundbox, as per media reports.

Last week, PhonePe launched a shopping app called 'Pincode' built on top of the ONDC (Open Network For Digital Commerce) platform which is available for download on the Google Play Store and App Store. The app is currently available only for Bengaluru-based customers.