PhonePe announced the release of its Point-of-Sale (POS) device, allowing merchants to accept payments via debit cards, credit cards, and UPI. "The device comes preloaded with the PhonePe POS App and supports transactions through tap/swipe/dip and interoperable dynamic QR codes," stated PhonePe in a statement.

The advent of PhonePe's one-stop POS solution will increase competition for strong rival Paytm, which has recently handed over their all-in-one POS machines to check-out counters across the country that were previously used to using devices from established banks.

One97 Communications, Paytm's parent company, announced a 118% increase in payment devices subscribed by its merchants in the first two months of this fiscal year, which began on April 1. The number of merchants paying subscriptions for its payment devices, including soundboxes and PoS machines, increased to 75 lakh in April and May, up from 34 lakh in the same period the previous year.

"With PhonePe's extensive network of over 3.5 crore merchants nationwide, our goal is to expand this solution across India and deploy 150,000 devices by next year," said Vivek Lohcheb, PhonePe's Head of Offline Business.

He claims that by accepting credit and debit cards, merchants can expect an increase in average ticket size, resulting in overall business development.

Rapid digitisation in India, penetration of smartphones, increased plastic card usage and government initiatives to curb cash economy have led to a spurt in adoption of POS devices by merchants be it a small store or mega retailers. A PwC report in 2021 said India had witnessed a 300% rise in the adoption of PoS terminals over the last five years.