Google Pay made its debut in India in September 2017 and has since been dedicated to India's transformative shift towards digital payments. Last year, the tech giant introduced SoundPod product through a limited pilot programm and now, the audio device designed to assist merchants in tracking QR code payments by providing audio alerts upon receiving a payment, will be made available for small merchants across India, in the coming months, the company has announced.
According to the tech giant, participating merchants have provided positive feedback, highlighting its effectiveness in reducing checkout time and the tech giant said it will announce that SoundPods will soon be accessible to small merchants throughout India in the coming months, offering significant convenience to millions of SMBs.
"Participating merchants have shared positive feedback, noting it reduces checkout time,” Ambarish Kenghe, Vice President - Product, Google Pay, said in a statement.
“We’re pleased to announce SoundPods will be available for small merchants across India over the coming months, bringing considerable ease and convenience to millions of SMBs,” Kenghe added.
This complements the range of consumer and merchant services Google had unveiled in October 2023 to enhance access to responsible credit in India -- a mission it said it "was making significant progress in with promising momentum".
The hallmark of United Payments Interface (UPI), characterised by seamless interoperability across all financial system components, has not only transformed possibilities for India but also for the global stage. In January, we Google had announced a partnership with NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) to enable UPI payments from international locations and to promote the adoption of UPI-like frameworks in countries worldwide.
To recall, PhonePe, a fintech platform, introduced its Smart Speaker, designed for convenient payment tracking at stores in the country in 2022. The Smart Speaker was made available in eight cities, with over 100,000 devices already in use by PhonePe's merchant partners, at the time of launch.