Paytm Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma on Friday launched the company’s new visual soundbox device, an upgrade from the previous device which only provided instant audio payment confirmation. The revamped 4G-enabled soundbox will display merchants the amount received from customers through the built-in digital screen. The announcement was made by Sharma at the Startup Mahakumbh event.
The solar-powered device will allow the company’s merchant partners to receive instant payment alerts on a digital screen and real-time transaction tracking. The device will also provide real-time transaction updates, total collections, and device status, supporting 11 languages.
“It is 4G (enabled) and can stay active with a 10-day battery life. The screen shows the total balance and number of payments received. It is available from today onwards and the feature we have added is without any extra cost,” Sharma told reporters during the launch of the device.
Sharma said the device provides a more discreet payment experience by showing the amount details instead of announcing them. He added that the feature would be more useful for vendors who don’t want the payment details to be spoken out.
On the sidelines of the launch, Sharma also spoke on the comparison drawn between India and China startups by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal at the Startup Mahakumbh event on Thursday.
Underscoring the significance of building deeptech startups in India, Sharma said, “There is no doubt that India should not build AI startups, space startups, etc.”
“For comparison with China, as the government and we as an enterprise, we would like deeptech and AI startups to be built in India but there could be issues around resources and their access. However, this doesn’t mean that we need not build such startups. It is a great opportunity,” Sharma added.
Speaking on the likely impact of the US tariffs on Indian startups, he noted that it may limit startups’ access to funding. However, “the funding impact will be very short as the India opportunity is a very long-term game.”
India has been imposed a 26 per cent tariff by the US on Indian merchandise exports in response to 52 per cent tariff imposed by India on US goods.