Coronavirus: BharatPe launches two apps to avoid touching handsets for checking transactions

Merchant payment and lending network provider BharatPe on Monday launched two voice-based applications that will help accountholders access transactions and balance without having to touch their phones amid COVID-19 outbreak.

With Paisa Bolega — voice alerts of transactions, shopkeepers will be able to hear aloud instant confirmation of all payments received through their BharatPe QR, without touching the phone.

BharatPe Balance will give information about the total money available to the shopkeeper across deposits, loans and daily collections through quick response (QR).

During the lockdown, the company has seen business per merchant go up significantly as both customers and shopkeepers prefer contactless QR payments, BharatPe said in a release.

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Average ticket size has gone up 70 percent from Rs 300 to Rs 500 as customers shop more for essentials, albeit less frequently, it added.

Paisa Bolega is a button introduced in BharatPe App. This converts the shopkeeper's smartphone into a loud speaker, announcing the value of transaction received.

This does away the need for the merchant to check his phone repeatedly to see if money has come in, it said, adding that there will be no need to maintain any additional device.

Further, BharatPe Balance provides a single snapshot of the shopkeeper's daily QR collections, balance in 12 percent interest a/c and the loan limit. This gives the shopkeeper single snapshot of his business and capital available to him, the company said.

Ashneer Grover, CEO and Co-Founder, BharatPe, said, "We believe in offering solutions that are affordable and easy to use. Our new instant voice alerts on transaction product ('Paisa Bolega') is free, compared to a competing payment player who is giving Chinese speaker devices to do the same voice alerts and is charging hundreds of rupees from merchants for it."

BharatPe is all about Indian software ingenuity over Chinese hardware. The shopkeeper's phone is all the hardware that he actually needs and is more capable than all point of sale (PoS) devices combined, Ashneer added.