Infosys partners with FinTech firm ToneTag to pay with sound waves

Infosys Finacle, the financial solutions arm of Indian IT and business consulting firm Infosys, has partnered with FinTech startup ToneTag to develop sound-based payment solutions. The new technology is expected to further increase the speed and cost-efficiency of NFC-based (Near Field Communication) payment systems.

Over the past few years, the marketplace has undergone a significant transformation with the advent of NFC payment methods. Customers have been able to transfer money to merchants simply by holding their card/mobile device close to the merchant’s NFC-enabled machine. The technology has caused major disruption in the banking sector, as banks scramble to bring themselves up to date with state of the art payment methods.

Now, India-based startup ToneTag has devised a sound-based technology that has further increased the efficiency of the payment process, primarily by virtue of eliminating the necessity of buying the NFC-enabled equipment. The use of sound waves enables the transfer of money using all mobile devices, including feature phones. Using the sound waves, the technology executes the rapid exchange of key information, which includes the merchant ID, transaction ID, reference number, and the amount. The consumer can then approve the transaction from their phone without having to disclose any card or account details. In essence, customers can now pay at retail outlets with a simple tap of their mobile phone.

The technology not only improves proximity payments significantly, but also accelerates the customer-authentication process at bank branches, ATMs and retail outlets. Customers can carry out transactions by linking their credit/debit card to their phone, using their digital wallets, or even by directly debiting from their account. On the security front, the transactions will be protected by three layers of encryption, with further Tokenisation, Host Card Emulation, and White Box Cryptography.

Having recognised ToneTag during Finacle Fintech Connect – a part of Infosys’ overall scouting program to find promising new FinTechs – business consulting firm Infosys Finacle has now partnered with ToneTag to jointly harness the tremendous potential of the sound-based technology. The partnership fosters monumental objectives, with plans to spread across 94 countries, incorporating more than 800 million consumers. The solutions will be delivered through Finacle’s existing banking solutions apparatus, which includes Finacle Mobile Banking and Finacle Digital Wallet. Moreover, Finacle solutions are well versed in biometric authentication such as facial and fingerprint recognition, which will enable secure and convenient transactions.

Commenting on the partnership, Sanat Rao, the Chief Business Officer at Infosys Finacle said, “In the emerging NFC-based payments ecosystems driven by Apple and Samsung, banks are being relegated as the back-end payment utility provider. The sound wave based proximity payments solution by ToneTag offers a significant opportunity for banks to gain control of the last mile payment experience, without making substantial capital investments. We are glad to bring this promising startup to our client ecosystem.”

Meanwhile, Founder of Tonetag, Kumar Abhishek commented, “Customer experience, security and interoperability will continue to be key for financial service applications. ToneTag brings all of these to the forefront and integration with Infosys Finacle will place our innovation into the hands of more than 800 million consumers across 94 countries.”