ToneTag AudioPod Enables Payment by Sound

Mobile payments have ultimately proven so valuable for their end users that we’ve seen a host of new ways to make and receive payments. From near-field communications to quick response (QR) codes, we’ve seen a lot of movement. Enter the ToneTag AudioPod, which reports note allows users to make mobile payments without that connection to the internet that isn’t always available in some places.

The ToneTag AudioPod turns to sound as its primary interface, hence the name AudioPod. Users need only tap their phones on the AudioPod to activate the device, which promptly emits a sound wave that contains a strand of data. The phone, meanwhile, picks up the sound and responds in kind, which effectively completes the mobile payment.

Reports further note that it works quickly—each transaction takes less than three seconds to complete—speeding up checkout operations. The system works with any currently-operating banking application or e-wallet function, and any merchant can put the AudioPod to work quickly. Since it doesn’t require a data connection, it works anywhere that there’s power for it.

ToneTag’s CEO and co-founder Kumar Abhishek commented “ToneTag Audio Pod is a device that can be used by any merchant irrespective of their scale of operations or nature of the business. This device can be that trigger which enables mass acceptance of digital mode of payments amongst merchants. In our push towards a digital economy, a device like the ToneTag Audio Pod can bring in both the merchant and the consumer segment to accelerate the digital drive.”

It’s an exciting notion, particularly for developing economies that are increasingly embracing mobile payment systems but don’t always have the infrastructure available to back these up. Mobile payments offer convenience and speed of transaction that’s hard to improve on, so they’re desirable systems for the merchant and the customer alike. They improve the customer experience, and increase the chances of repeat business, so they’re the kind of thing businesses should look to have.

Without that internet connectivity to back things up, though, it can be tough to put these systems in place. Tools like the AudioPod may really be able to help here, and open up the concept of mobile payments to places that have never had the opportunity to put them to work previously.