Tag: Kumar Abhishek

Business World

The New Era of Retailing and Inventory management with Acoustic Tags

Jun 23, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Centre for Nano Science & Engineering, #Founder and CEO – ToneTag, #IISc Bangalore, #Kumar Abhishek, #Prof. Rudra Pratap

National: ToneTag, a proximity communication company and the largest sound network, has worked closely with eminent scientists from prestigious Indian Institute of sciences to develop ingenious Acoustic tags which are nanotech enabled stickers with Audio representations of data. It can be put on plastics, paper or any material and works as a tracking technology for products.

These tags emit a sound with product details that can be easily captured by any reader or even mobile phones, hence eliminating the need for expensive reader infrastructure which comes with RFID or Magnetic tags. The ease of use and security features of Acoustic tags also keeps it ahead of other asset tracking solutions based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Ultra-wideband (UWB).

The Acoustic tags supports high level of security where data can be encrypted and password protected. These tags can help Retailers with effective pilferage management and getting product level as well as aisle level inventory details without individually scanning the products.

Retail customers can also experience the magic of Acoustic tags, as it enables faster checkouts and seamless shopping journey by completely eliminating the need for scanning each products barcode for billing.

Commenting on the collaborative innovation, Prof. Rudra Pratap, Centre for Nano Science & Engineering, IISc Bangalore , said, “Our partnership with ToneTag cements the belief that research and commercial applications go hand in hand. It also restates the fact that Indian companies, especially start-ups are capable of building world-class innovative products in India, eliminating the dependency on western countries for innovations. We believe that Acoustic Tags will play an important role in addressing the inventory management and tracking issues faced by the retail sector globally. Apart from this, we are also exploring a lot of interesting use-cases of this technology for home automation and smart cities.”

“ ToneTag technology and IISc expertise has resulted in the birth of much needed technological innovation in Retail since world war II, in the form of Acoustic tags. Without the need for investing in expensive readers, the Acoustic tags can automate the Inventory and Logistic management process through Improved efficiency, automatic identification and quicker data capture, by providing quick access to information, while reducing operating & labour costs. – said, Kumar Abhishek, Founder and CEO – ToneTag

ToneTag has been at the forefront of a revolution in the global digital payment and retail engagement space. It has created an atmosphere that motivates its researchers to break the chains of traditional thinking and incorporate modern ways to transform the future of sound and audio-based technology. This has led the company to acquire 8 Global patents (with more in its pipeline)

Business World, News

ToneTag backs the future of offline payments; joins forces with Crunchfish

Jun 8, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Founder and CEO – ToneTag, #Kumar Abhishek

India: ToneTag, India’s fastest growing sound-based proximity communication and payments service provider, has recently announced its partnership with Crunchfish, Sweden’s leading tech company offering future centric solutions for the betterment of human lives. The well-thought-out alliance will enable ToneTag to combine its celebrated sound-based proximity technology with Crunchfish’scapability of offline payments and encourage greater use of digital payments in retail and other sectors of the economy.

Crunchfish’s digital cash is pliable, works 24/7, and allows people to pay privately and offline, just like paper cash. This easy to use solution has gained traction during the pandemic and has the potential to do wonders beyond it as well.

Commenting on the momentous partnership, Kumar Abhishek, Founder and CEO – ToneTag, said, “Poor internet connectivity and absence of payment services on feature phones have hindered numerous people from making online payments. Our audio-based data communication combined with Crunchfish’s digital cash will enable customers to experience the joy of making uniform payments, even in offline spaces. By joining hands with them, we plan to modernise digital payment services in the years to come”.

ToneTag’s futuristic and stable sound-based technology allows its users to make quick and secure payments, without needing an internet connection by its side. The solution also works well on feature phones, which are used by millions of Indians in the country.

About ToneTag

ToneTag is driven to realize mobile experiences and interactions as a service. The technology uses sound waves to enable contactless, offline and proximity data communication on any device. Being a software element, it can easily be integrated into existing devices, making it highly compatible and accessible to everyone. Transactions are highly secure and frictionless, creating a seamless experience for users. ToneTag aims to revolutionize the payment ecosystem with simple but robust technology.

News, Technology

RBI’s regulatory sandbox greenlights ToneTag’s contactless, sound-based payment pilot

Dec 29, 2020 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Founder and CEO, #Kumar Abhishek

National: ToneTag, a proximity communication company and the largest sound network, has recently announced the success of its PoC, focusing on a contactless, sound wave-based payment service, in the regulatory sandbox set up by the RBI. The solution is set to redefine the digital payment space by creating a seamless experience for customers, enabling them to avoid the hassle of making cash as well as touch-based digital payments. ToneTag’s sound-based technology can enable it from any mobile phone, including feature phones used by more than 600 million Indians. Through this innovation, the company aims to bridge the last-mile financial inclusion in the country, enabling rural India – where smartphone penetration is low – to go cashless.

Despite the regulatory push towards making India a digital-first economy, a majority of Indians continue to rely on cash payments. In the post-COVID-19 landscape, where minimizing the physical contact environment is a priority, the need for a cashless payment method that doesn’t require the customer to touch foreign devices is critical. This is where ToneTag enters the picture. It’s simple and low-cost solution enables the user to make payments using their device without any additional setup for merchants.

Speaking on passing the regulatory sandbox, Kumar Abhishek, Founder and CEO – ToneTag, said, “Despite the various imperatives to switch to digital payments, most Indians, especially in tier-2 and tier-3 regions, still use cash because of low smartphone penetration which stands at only 30% in India. Nearly 600 million Indians still use feature phones that do not support digital payment apps available in the market. We wanted to address exactly this need-gap, not only to drive financial inclusion in the country but also in the context of the viral outbreak when minimizing one’s physical contact environment is critical. Our sound-based technology allows Indians to conduct cashless transactions. To drive the transaction, the user only needs to call an IVR number and follow simple instructions. The entire process is the same as making a call on the mobile device that users are already familiar with.”

“We are grateful to the RBI for setting up the regulatory sandbox where we got the opportunity to prove the value of our technology. As part of the cohort, we are more than ready to take the fintech industry by storm and revolutionize the payment processes for every Indian,” he added.

News, Technology

ToneTag launches ‘Voice Commerce’ feature to ease the offline shopping experience

Dec 12, 2020 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #CEO, #Kumar Abhishek, #ToneTag, #Voice Commerce technology

New Delhi:  ToneTag, a leader in the sound-based contactless payment network, launches a game-changing exclusive technology ‘Voice Commerce’ feature, for businesses that can seamlessly implement customer interactions and create purchase opportunities. With this new Voice Commerce offering, people can now buy anything, anytime, anywhere, just with their Voice.

ToneTag’s voice-based solution brings the ease, convenience, and customization of online shopping into the offline retail space. The unique functionalities of this solution will enable seamless and convenient offline shopping experiences for the customers as well as for the merchants.

Key advantage of ToneTag’s Voice Commerce:

Order Ahead: Customers can now order and pay ahead in Café and Quick-Service Restaurant (QSR) by just speaking to their mobile device and get their order once they reach the outlet without waiting in the queue.

Cashier-less shopping: The introduction of voice-based commerce would enable customers to order to any voice-activated devices like Echo Buds or Air Pods, thus experiencing a queue less shopping experience, omitting the trauma of lengthy check-out process at outlets.

Voice can make Bharat digital: ToneTag’s voice-based payments solution utilizes Sound Waves to generate Audio QR as a medium for the merchant or seller and payment information to complete the transactions. Customers can do tap and pay transactions or do queue less/cashier-less payments from anywhere in the store.

For small payments under Rs.500, customers can simply say “Pay the bill” or “Payment kar dijiye” and payment process completes in two seconds. Customers can interact in their native language too. This app supports <xxx> languages. The personalized offline retail experience will mark a new era in interactive voice commerce.

Commenting on the launch of this new and exclusive Voice Commerce technology, Kumar Abhishek, CEO, ToneTag said, “We look forward to providing customers with a highly differentiated offline shopping experience that is easier and faster than regular shopping. Although, technology innovation in e-commerce has made the online shopping experience seamless and smooth as compared to the physical retail shopping experience whereas physical retail accounts for approximately 86% of all retail sales globally. It was a need of the hour to bring in a breakthrough technology in offline shopping too. Tone Tag’s Voice Commerce feature is surely the solution to make the offline shopping easier and faster and without much physical proximity.”

He further says, “By 2022, with over 18 billion IoT (Internet of Things) devices like connected cars, appliances, wearable and other consumer electronics , the potential for leveraging Voice is massive. In fact, with conversational commerce steadily becoming the norm, it is believed that Voice command will be the key. ToneTag has harnessed the audio signal into payment gateway and made the process simpler and smoother.”