Google Pay brings its QR sound box to small merchants in India after trial run

Google said on Thursday it plans to roll out SoundPod, its portable speaker designed to instantly validate and announce successful payments, to small merchants across India in the coming months. The expansion of Google Pay in India, where the company is among the leaders in the mobile payments market, comes even as the company is shutting down some of its payment apps in the US

The company, which began a limited trial of the SoundPod last year, received positive feedback during the trial and helped merchants reduce checkout time, Ambarish Kenghe, VP of Products for Google Pay, said. he wrote in a blog post.

The tiny jukeboxes, colloquially called “sound-boxes” in the domestic market, have witnessed widespread adoption in India, allowing traders to find respite after receiving payment and contesting any illegal claims.

Financial services company Paytm is currently leading the sound box market and PhonePe is also expanding its device further. More than 20 million merchants in the country already use one of these boxes, which industry insiders estimate cost about $18-$20 to build.

Sound-box has evolved into a lucrative subscription model over time as various players charge subscription fees to merchants. The soundbox’s real appeal, according to one industry insider, extends beyond its audible alerts — it provides invaluable insights into merchant behaviors, making it easier to offer loans based on that data.

Google Pay offers the SoundPod at minimal cost — charging a one-time fee of $18 for a year, or a one-time fee of $6 and six cents a day for 25 days a month. The company said merchants who use the SoundPod to process 400 payments in a month will receive $1.50 in cash back.

Reliance, India’s largest company by market capitalization, also began testing the device on its campus last year, TechCrunch reported earlier. The company confirmed the device in a subsequent earnings call and said it plans to bring it to market soon.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.