Google Pay’s audio device SoundPod, introduced last year as a pilot product, to track QR code payments with audio alerts when a payment is received, will be available for small merchants across India over the coming months, the company said on Thursday.
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Similar to Paytm’s Soundbox and PhonePe’s Smart Speaker, Google Pay’s SoundPod will bring “considerable ease and convenience to millions of SMBs,” said Ambarish Kenghe, Vice President – Product, Google Pay in a blog post.
“Last year, we introduced our SoundPod product in a limited pilot – an audio device that helps merchants track QR code payments with audio alerts when a payment is received. Participating merchants have shared positive feedback, noting it reduces checkout time,” said Kenghe.
The ease of UPI payment alerts via sound devices has led to the growth in adoption of such devices among retailers and merchants across categories in the country. Currently, Paytm leads the adoption with reportedly over 8.5 million devices.
Subscription charges
According to Google, merchants can choose between a daily and yearly subscription of audio notification services from the Google Pay for Business app. The daily plan costs with Rs 499 one-time fee and Rs 5 per day deducted for 25 days in a month from their settlement account. The yearly plan is worth Rs 1,499 for one year with savings of Rs 500.
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The subscription runs from the date of activation. Merchants can get Rs 125 in cashback on receiving 400 payments in a month via GPay QR codes.
How to set up and use SoundPod
Press and hold the Power key for 3 seconds to turn on the device and connect to the network with a glowing green LED.
It will given two voice prompts: “Welcome to SoundPod by Google Pay” and “Network Connected.’
The device is now ready to notify you of successful transactions made via the QR code.
Merchants can also review the status of the audio notification service plan they have chosen and details.
Apart from the volume and power buttons, it also has a menu button to play last three transactions.
Users can press and hold the menu button along with pressing the Volume up once to display its terminal ID (TID) and twice to display its Firmware version.
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Merchants can also download invoices for fees for SoundPod services from ‘Invoices’ in the Google Pay for Business app or under ‘Quick links’,” tap SoundPod and at the top right, tap ‘More Invoices’.
