Soon, make your card payments through Paytm and Pine Labs soundboxes

Payment soundboxes — the nifty little devices on the counters of scores of small stores and street vendors that relay audio confirmation of payments in their regional language — will soon allow card transactions. On Monday, Paytm and Pine Labs separately launched new soundboxes with the NFC (near field communication) technology that would accept mobile payments with QR codes and card payments across major card networks—from home-grown RuPay to Visa, Mastercard and American Express. 

Paytm’s Rs 999 “Card Soundbox” would rival Pine Labs’ “Mini”, which would come at “nearly one-third of the cost of a regular point-of-sale terminal”.

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