On Monday, with two similar product launches, Pine Labs and Paytm have shown their intent to go after the lucrative offline merchant sector with all forms of innovative products.
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Listed fintech company Paytm launched a new terminal which can not only accept QR code payments followed by a sound-based confirmation, but also do the same for card payments. Unlike full-service point of sale terminals, these devices only accept tap-and-pay card payments.
Paytm has been focusing on its soundbox terminals, launching multiple variants of the device over the last few months.
Paytm’s competitor in the merchant payment space, Pine Labs, launched a similar product on the same day. Named ‘Mini’, this device can process both tap-and-pay card payments and UPI transactions through QR codes.
“What the payment industry is realising is that sticker QRs never create a moat in the payment business. For us, cost (of full-service terminals) was a big factor to launch Mini,” Pine Labs chief executive Amrish Rau told ET. “We are targeting grocery merchants and restaurant owners through this offering.”
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Rau said the company has already received 200,000 pre-orders for its Mini device, and will be supplying these to major banks including HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank. Offline payment player Mosambee, which Pine Labs acquired in April 2022, will also distribute the ‘Mini’ terminals.Paytm, on the other hand, is looking to target the mid-market segment — between users of its PoS devices and those who use its soundbox — with its new product.
Speaking with ET, Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said this product will meet the massive demand for soundbox confirmations on card payments.
“It also augments the market for both QR and card-based payments, helping the merchant cater to international customers too,” Sharma said.
Competition in the merchant payment space is heating up by the day. Among the major payment players, Pine Labs, Paytm, Ezetap (owned by Razorpay) and Worldline are offering high-quality payment products as well as incentives to merchants to deploy their terminals at their shops.
Mini is available to merchants at an upfront cost of Rs 1,999, plus a subscription fee based on the volume of payments processed. Paytm has priced its Card Soundbox starting from Rs 999 along with a monthly subscription fee. It offers the normal soundbox terminals free of cost, generating revenue from monthly subscription fees.
According to Pine Labs, 1.1 million merchants currently use its PoS devices.
Paytm has deployed close to 8.5 million soundboxes so far and is currently adding 1.2 million devices every quarter, Bhavesh Gupta, its chief operating officer, said on Monday.