ToneTag will make sound-based mobile transactions possible for Indian consumers

Consumers in India will soon be able to take advantage of the convenience of sound-based mobile payments. ToneTag, a sound-based technology startup, has been tapped by MoboMoney, a payment platform that was launched in December 2015 by Tech Mahindra, to introduce a new feature into the MoboMoney ecosystem. ToneTag has developed technology that can facilitate mobile transactions with a simple sound or through the use of NFC technology, which most modern payment platforms are based on.

MoboMoney aims to expand the accessibility of mobile commerce

MoboMoney notes that the ToneTag sound-based technology is capable of facilitating transaction even on devices that are not equipped with NFC technology. This technology is still relatively rare in India, though more NFC-enabled devices are becoming available in the country. Sound-based technology could allow more consumers to participate in the mobile commerce space, allowing them to use a wide range of devices to make purchases in physical stores. A growing number of physical stores are beginning to support mobile commerce and more consumers participating in this space may lead to success for retailers.

India continues to be a favored mobile market

India is one of the fastest growing mobile payments markets in the world. The country is home to more than 1 billion mobile consumers, with many of these people living in rural areas. Those living in rural areas have shown particular interest in mobile commerce because it allows them to shop whenever they want and from wherever they are. MoboMoney aims to expand mobile commerce services to the full gamut of these consumers, hoping that more people will opt to make transactions via their mobile devices.

Innovative technology could help bring more people into the mobile commerce space

ToneTag has been finding success with its innovative technology. In August of last year, ToneTag rose a total of $1 million in funding. This money allowed the company to expand and perfect its services. Sound-based mobile payments have not yet become mainstream, but ToneTag’s ability to make mobile commerce more accessible to a wide range of people may change this in the coming years.

Last year, India had already managed to produce an estimated 100 million of the devices.

India has started to define itself as a worldwide hub for the production of mobile phones and, as such, it is now lining itself up to reach the tremendous milestone of 500 million units within the next two years.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) announced that this growth is spiking due to very specific reasons.

A statement from the DoT said that the production of mobile phones has been able to grow at this considerable rate due to a solid incentive policy as well as having quality talent readily available. J.S. Deepak, the Telecom Secretary, explained that “The number of phones being manufactured was 10 million sometime back (now it has increased) to 100 million. The time has come when we will reach 500 million, may be in 2 years.”

Deepak pointed out that a differential tariff was assisting domestic manufacturers in the mobile phones market.

That said, while speaking on ART (Adjudication, Regulation, Telecommunication) of Convergence at a TDSAT seminar, he also shared that the differential tariff was also helpful to areas other than mobile technology, such as in consumer electronics, medical electronics, in addition to broadband set-up boxes and equipment.

Deepak added that with the incentive policies and the strong talent base, the country has started to define itself in the worldwide market for the manufacture of mobile devices, particularly in the area of lower-end cell phones.

This is one of several efforts being made by the Indian government in the hope of decreasing electronic product imports in order to be able to meet domestic market product requirements by creating its own solid structure of production.

In response to this move in India, a number of different large electronic device makers have started to step into the country. Among those companies have included Lenovo, Micromax, Gionee, Lava, Xiaomi, and OnePlus. This has allowed India to define itself among the most rapidly growing mobile phone markets on the planet. It is not surprising that this is presenting a considerable appeal to device makers from the rest of the globe.