Mastercard transactions will now be validated with sonic melody on Android-based PoS machines

Mastercard embedded its sonic brand melody into Android based point-of-sale (PoS) devices. This is the first time Mastercard has rolled out the sonic melody on PoS devices in South Asia. Now, whenever Mastercard cardholders complete a payment transaction on these PoS machines, they will hear Mastercard’s sonic melody and see the double tick mark on the PoS screen.

In the first phase of rollout, Mastercard will work with India Transact Services Ltd., an omni-channel merchant digital payment solutions company and wholly-owned subsidiary of AGS Transact Technologies Limited, to enable 2,000 Android based ONGO PoS machines across five cities – Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Pune, with Mastercard’s sonic brand identity.

In phase two, which will take place over the next six months, India Transact Services will implement Mastercard’s sonic tune on 10,000 ONGO PoS machines in more than 15 cities, including tier II & III centers such as Bhubaneswar, Patna, Satara and Coimbatore.

Talking about the launch, Ravi B. Goyal, Chairman and MD, AGS Transact Technologies Limited said: “We consistently aim to simplify the digital payments experience for consumers and merchants through our brand ONGO. Our pan-India presence along with Mastercard’s brand trust will be the catalyst for strengthening the digital payments ecosystem in India.”

Manasi Narasimhan, vice president, marketing and communication, South Asia, Mastercard said: “Over the years, Mastercard has been working in India to increase consumers’ trust in the safety, security and convenience of digital payments. Sound is a powerful way to create an emotionally and culturally relevant connection with consumers. Mastercard’s partnership with India Transact Services enables the familiar, distinct and memorable melody to be played each time a Mastercard cardholder completes an Android PoS based transaction. This additional layer of reassurance will increase consumers’ trust and confidence in digital payments and goes a long way towards establishing Mastercard debit and credit cards as the preferred safe, secure, and convenient way to pay.”

Over the last few years, digital payments in India have grown substantially. In FY19, the country registered 31.34 billion retail digital payments. Further, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has recently increased the target of digital transactions for FY20 to 45 billion. This represents a huge opportunity for growth beyond the metropolitan cities.

Mastercard has been collaborating with fintech companies, partner banks and industry bodies to increase awareness and adoption of digital payments.