From social payment bots to multi-lingual car apps - the hot product launches of the week

Have you ever wondered how people went about their daily needs before the advent of technology? Over the last decade, technology has evolved at a rapid pace whether it is online cab aggregation, healthcare apps, foodtech apps, online payment solutions, and edtech simplifying the process of learning and teaching. Technological developments are touching every aspect of our lives, and even replacing manpower. Recently, to everyone’s surprise, Apple supplier Foxconn replaced 60,000 human workers with robots. Innovation it seems is the order of the day.

Closer home too, Indian startups are also busy coming up with offerings to simplify people’s lives.

Mypoolin’s chatbots social payment app

Social and group payment startup Mypoolin has launched Facebook Messenger and Telegram chat-bots that increase their bandwidth to handle queries. The social payment platform enables financial transactions in a social interface with the help of real-time chat-bot assistance. Available for Android and iOS, the Mypoolin chat-bot app allows peer-to-peer payments to anyone in your contact list, and lets you check the balance in wallets such as Mobikwik and Oxigen that are linked with the app.

COR Ride App

Launched by the Urban Mobility Service Carzonrent, the COR Ride App comes equipped with unique features that allow personal aides/facilitators attached to corporate executives to make and track reservations on their behalf. The app will allow bookings to be made for multiple guests and customers, and track reporting of cars. Moreover, its dual mode allows users to switch between corporate and retail modes. The app also supports a multilingual interface and is available in English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. Toll and parking receipt images will also be included in the invoice for customer reference.

Payjo - Recharge Bot on Messenger

Recharge Bot provides balance reminders for prepaid phones. It sends low talktime and data reminders for Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, DoCoMo, Reliance and Aircel customers. Through these carriers, Payjo can reach 170 million smartphone users in India. It has delivered over 30,000 messages. The app supports several Indian languages such as Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. Payjo’s local language support in Recharge Bot, combined with a Unified Payment Interface, will boost digital inclusion in India.

Ola Lux

Cab booking app Ola has launched Ola Lux in Mumbai, through which customers can book luxury sedans like Jaguar, Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Toyota Fortuner, Honda Accord, and other high-end sedans and SUVs on the Ola mobile app. Currently, the facility is available only in South Mumbai, but will be introduced in other parts of the city soon. Ola Lux is available for booking at a minimum fare of Rs. 200 and Rs. 19 per/km. A ride time charge of Rs. 2 per minute is also applicable.

Watch this space. Next week we will be back with a new set of product lines from the startup world.