Are Sound-wave Enabled Transactions the Way Ahead for Digital Payments ToneTag is re-defining the cashless payments ecosystem by providing a cognitive energy experience to millions of users across the globe

For centuries, people have been paying for commodities and services through physical articles. Starting from the exchange of possessions during the early days of civilization to using brass and gold coins, the paper notes and plastic money, there has always been a material aspect associated with the transaction. The influx of digital payments, however, has changed the way people pay.

Innovators are not satisfied with the current payment system too and are looking to make mobile payments as accessible and frictionless as possible by removing any sort of hardware dependency. It hasn't been long since contactless payment has received acceptance in the ecosystem and another powerful mode of transaction is already set to take over.

Amazon Mastercard and Reliance Capital backed payment services provider ToneTag has introduced a sound-wave technology that works without internet. Touted as a fastest and hassle-free payment method, the technology aims to connect millions of unbanked people across the globe to the cashless payments ecosystem, affirmed ToneTag CEO & Founder, Kumar Abhishek.

Energy-enabled Payment System

During everyday dealings, retailers and customers come across struggles to find the exact change to complete a transaction, that's when the sound-enabled payment system comes in handy. In a conversation with Entrepreneur India, Abhishek stated, "ToneTag has harnessed the incredible power of sound in developing a highly secure and robust channel of data communication."

Imagine a system where the customers can pick up products and walk out of the retail stores without having to worry about the payments as the transactions are being conducted automatically via soundwave and their smartphones. That is the global cognitive energy experience the future consumers will witness irrespective of their geographies, internet connectivity and hardware dependency.

While the sound is a major source of communication, other elements will soon find a place in the payment space. Earlier, "there was no payment technology which was as easy as paying by cash while being interoperable," said Abhishek. The technology utilizes the natural energies for its universal nature and easy integration as a medium to transmit data, one of the reasons due to which ToneTag was born.

Evolution of Transactions

Unlike the cash and digital payments, hardware dependency is not a factor associated with ToneTag's soundwave technology as it enables payments through any device including Laptops, PCs, Tablets, EDCs, mPOS and Smartphones among others, making its consumption highly interoperable and different from other players in the market.

Players like Paytm and Google are coming up with better marketing strategies every day but are yet to touch upon the emerging technologies like blockchain whereas ToneTag is already utilizing it for traceable, transparent, and secure contactless payments. "Every party involved in the transaction is protected by the blockchain since it maintains a public record of every transaction that has ever taken place in the system. Any previous transaction can be verified on the blockchain," Abhishek clarified.

The platform is currently developing an invisible payment solution which doesn't require the customers to reveal any information and is working on potentially disruptive applications for other industries and use cases to improve the order-taking and payment experience at restaurants. The evolution will ensure more secure transactions.

Support & Structure

The technology has been receiving high-end support and appreciation from the global giants. The homegrown payments service has recently tied up with UAE's largest bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank to deploy sound based contactless payments through an app called PayIt. It allows users to make cardless and cashless payments at merchant outlets from their mobile phones.

In a recent funding round, ToneTag has raised $8.1 million Amazon & Mastercard along with the existing investors Reliance Capital, 3one4 Capital, Amansa Capital and some angel investors. The global technology solutions provider has over 52 million customers globally and has filed 7 global patents for a variety of exciting use cases in the payments ecosystem.

From ICICI Pockets and FreeCharge to Yes Pay, Bank of Baroda and Airtel money, ToneTag has over 25 partners for being the first on the planet to enable contactless payment acceptance on POS terminal/EDC machines using sound wave technology. In the future, the company aims to explore the mobility and e-commerce sectors.