Ultracash launches sound-based mobile payment service in Bangalore

Bangalore-based Ultracash Technology Labs has launched a mobile payment service that lets consumers make payments at close to 500 merchants in the city using a high frequency sound-based technology.

Ultracash logoSome 24,000 transactions were conducted using the service during a two month pilot that took place ahead of the launch, the company says.

“You’re good to go if you have a bank account and a mobile phone,” Ultracash explains. “Using a unique ultra high frequency encrypted sound-based technology that is patent-pending, you can pay directly from any of your bank accounts or credit/debit cards to the merchant account.

“The customer opens the Ultracash application securely by entering a passcode. He then selects his payment option, which prompts him to authorise the bank to generate a one-time passcode (OTP) for the transaction. Once the OTP is received, the customer is ready to make a payment to the merchant.

“The merchant now enters the amount to be paid. This generates a unique invoice for the transaction. Now the customer hits the Make Payment button, which transfers the invoice from the merchant’s phone to the customer’s phone. Once the customer has verified the invoice, he clicks the Pay Now button.

“The payment details are transferred to the merchant’s mobile. The payment is made to the merchant from the customer’s bank. Both the merchant and the customer’s devices display the success status of the transaction once it is completed.”

The service is currently available for Android phones with an iOS version to be added soon. A video shows Ultracash in action:

“India has more than 20m merchants and countless home businesses but only around one million point-of-sale machines are registered,” says Vishal Lal, co-founder of Ultracash. “That’s the amount of potential available to convert the paper money transactions floating in the system to digital and cashless. The current POS registration process is cumbersome; the ubiquitous mobile phone is the new POS.”

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