Jio Payments could Launch Soundbox For Merchants like Paytm

Payment services company Jio Payments plans to enter the merchant payments solutions segment. This payment gateway and solution unit of Reliance Jio, one of the big telecom companies, has prepared to launch Soundbox for merchants. It will be similar to devices from Paytm, PhonePe and BharatPe. Jio Payments has started its trial.

According to a media report, Jio Payments plans to enter the soundbox segment to expand the scope of its payment solutions. It has payment gateways, point-of-sale devices as well as a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform and a billing platform. It has been told in this report that the company has conducted trials in its Tier 2 cities and cities like Jaipur, Indore and Lucknow. This device is being installed at Jio's retail outlets in Tier 1 and metro cities. It will have a speaker and will send audio alerts for successful payments.

With the merchant's QR code on this soundbox, it can also function as a point-of-sale unit. Jio Soundbox can be launched by the end of this year. For this, apart from a fee, merchants may also have to pay a monthly subscription charge. For Paytm Soundbox, a price of Re 1 and a monthly charge of Rs 125 have to be paid.

Paytm's banking unit was ordered to shut down operations by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) due to compliance violations. This increased the apprehensions of the fintech industry. Recently, assurance was given by RBI regarding this industry. RBI Governor, Shaktikanta Das had said that the action taken on Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) was against a regulated entity. He said, “This action was taken against a regulated entity. It was not against a fintech company. I do not understand why it is being considered that the RBI has taken action against a fintech company. In this case The action was against Payments Bank.” In an interview given to a business news channel, he had said that PPBL customers have got enough deadline of March 15 to shift their accounts and wallets to other banks.