PhonePe sets foot in Point-of-sale device market to raise heat on rival Paytm

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

PhonePe on Thursday announced the launch of its Point-of-sale (POS) device that enables merchants to accept payments via debit cards, credit cards and UPI. «The device comes preloaded with the PhonePe POS App and supports transactions through tap/swipe/dip and interoperable dynamic QR codes,» PhonePe said in a statement. The launch of one-stop POS solution by PhonePe will intensify the competition for strong rival Paytm, which has in recent months handed over their all-in-one POS machines to check-out counters across the country that was otherwise accustomed to using the devices from established banks. One97 Communications, the parent entity of Paytm, had last month reported a 118 % spike in payment devices subscribed by its merchants in the first two months of this fiscal year that started April 1. The number of merchants paying subscription for its payment devices including soundbox and PoS machines rose to 75 lakh during April and May from 34 lakh in the comparable year-earlier period. «With PhonePe’s extensive network of over 3.5 crore merchants nationwide, our goal is to expand this solution pan India and deploy 150,000 devices by next year,» said Vivek Lohcheb, Head of Offline Business at PhonePe.

Paytm’s merchant payment push continues as June numbers show

Groww rolling out UPI payments via ‘Pay’ feature

Visa, Mastercard or RuPay? Choice may be yours, not bank's

He said by accepting credit and debit transactions, merchants can expect an increase in their average ticket size, ultimately driving overall business growth. PhonePe is offering the device at a «nominal» monthly rental, the company said without mentioning the exact amount. Rapid digitisation in India, penetration of smartphones,