MoboMoney Enables Sound-Based Contactless Payments In India

Consumers in India can now make payments with a sound.

NFC World+ reports that MoboMoney, an NFC payments platform that information technology provider Tech Mahindra released in December, has integrated the sound-based technology of the startup ToneTag.

Tech Mahindra, shares the outlet, describes ToneTag as “a software development kit (SDK) that allows offline, contactless and secure payments using sound, as well as NFC, depending upon the user device and retail POS hardware.”

Given that the technology enables contactless payments through sound waves, Tech Mahindra attests that it removes the need to rely on any particular platform. As a result, the integration, which will be made available to Android users, will allow for payments to be made on smartphones, EDC machines and POS devices, including within the existing MoboMoney system.

Furthermore, the company shares (via NFC World+) that the ToneTag technology within MoboMoney can facilitate P2P money transfer between two mobile devices, relying on either audible or inaudible frequencies. It’s also compatible with legacy POS terminals and is therefore able to work on the existing 1.2 million POS terminal network in India.

“With close to 1 billion mobile consumers and a large population of consumers even in rural areas now owning smartphones, we plan to rapidly expand the offline payment ecosystem for a seamless payment experience,” Vivek Chandok, head of consumer business at Tech Mahindra, said in a statement shared by NFC World+.

“This association will simplify user experience, wherein customers and merchants can directly download the MoboMoney mobile application integrated with ToneTag SDK to start making and accepting digital payments,” continued Chandok. “Earlier, it required a physical POS terminal or NFC-enabled phone at merchant end and NFC tag or NFC phone at consumer end in order to enable contactless payments. This will allow end users with Android-enabled, low-cost smartphones to start accepting and making digital payments.”