Google is rolling out the SoundPod – the company's wireless speaker capable of verifying payments received through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) instant payment system – to small merchants in India, the company announced on Thursday. The company began testing the device in a limited trial last year and revealed that the rollout would take place later this year. Google Pay's rivals PhonePe and Paytm – the latter facing restrictions from the RBI due to non-compliance with several rules – are already offering similar products to merchants in the country.

In a blog post On Thursday, Google Pay VP of Products for Google Pay, Ambarish Kenghe, announced that the company's SoundPod would be rolled out to small merchants nationwide “over the coming months.” During Google's year-long trial of the SoundPod in India, the company received positive feedback from merchants who participated in the trial, including faster payments, Kenghe said.

The SoundPod has an LCD screen and a single speaker. It supports 4G connectivity, according to Google. It has three LED indicators to show the battery, charging and connectivity status of the device, as well as menu, volume and power buttons.

The SoundPod has an LCD screen and speaker facing the trader
Photo credit: Google

Paytm's 'Soundbox' speakers offer between four and 12 days of battery life and feature 2G or 4G connectivity: two models come with LCD screens, while another supports music playback via a Bluetooth connection. On the other hand, PhonePe's SmartSpeaker offers up to four days of battery life on a single charge and supports multiple languages.

While the company hasn't offered a concrete timeline for the SoundPod's arrival in India, competitors like Paytm and PhonePe offer similar audio devices already used by merchants across the country. Marketers also pay a monthly subscription fee – between Rs. 50 to Rs. 125 – to access these audio announcements services.

Google says merchants will be able to choose between two subscriptions for the SoundPod: a Rs. 1,999,000.499 one-time fee followed by Rs. 125 monthly subscription plan or an annual subscription priced at Rs. 1,499. Merchants will not have to pay any one-time fees when choosing the annual plan. Customers who receive 400 payments per month via QR codes will benefit from a guaranteed Rs. 125 cashback, according to the company.