Reliance to disrupt UPI payments in India with launch of Jio Soundbox

Jio is reportedly venturing into the UPI payment market with the introduction of Jio Soundbox, a feature similar to the Paytm Soundbox commonly found in retail outlets. Jio’s foray into UPI payments builds upon its existing Jio Pay App, which serves as the foundation for this new initiative. By integrating Soundbox technology into its platform, Jio aims to enhance its business reach and provide a seamless payment experience to customers.

The Jio Soundbox launch is after eight to nine months of pilot launch across the Reliance Retail stores. At first the device was tested across Reliance's retail shops in tier 2 and other smaller metros like Jaipur, Indore, and Lucknow. After the successful testing in the tier 2 cities, it was introduced into the urban markets across the group’s retail outlets.   

Both the pilot projects turned out successfully and now Jio Payments is all set to take this product across retail stores, including those other than the group’s franchises. The industry experts view this move as very ‘strategic’ as it comes when Paytm is neck-deep in crisis.

The device is charged at the time of procuring it and there is a fixed monthly rental for the services it provides. Doubling up as POS or point of sales device in case of QR code based transactions, soundboxes are proving to be a lucrative source of income for fintechs.

Apart from the auditory alerts that it provides, it offers invaluable insights into merchant behaviours, facilitating the offering of loans based on this data.

While charges of Jio’s soundbox isn’t known yet, experts say if priced well, it could shake up the market extensively. Paytm, according to its website, is offering the device at Re 1 and monthly charges are Rs 125. According to reports, PhonePe charges Rs 49 a month as rentals. BharatPe has also extensively entered the soundbox segment, while reports suggest that Google Pay may also be foraying into the space soon.

More than 20 million Indian merchants use soundboxes, with Paytm leading the market, PhonePe coming close second.