Touch ‘n Go (TNG) have come a long way since their Time Traveller days, as their recent string of products have been wildly popular with the public. Things like the NFC charm, the new Enhanced NFC card and the beautiful United Voice limited edition cards have been selling like hot cakes. It’s been almost impossible to get my hands on any of these.
But today, they’ve launched something that I’m still on the fence about when it comes to the usefulness-per-ringgit angle. It’s called the Touch ‘n Go Soundbox, and they say that it’s an “audio-assisted smart device” that alerts merchants when payments have been received from their customers.
When the payment is received, the Soundbox will play an audio clip announcing the amount and the source of the payment, as well as display the amount on an LED screen. Merchants can also repeat the last transaction amount by pressing the repeat button. It doesn’t, however, announce failed or pending transactions.
What makes this Soundbox not just a Bluetooth speaker with TNG graphics is the fact that the device comes already connected to your merchant account. You can order the Soundbox through the TNG Merchant Dashboard, and it will be shipped to you with a two-sided standee, a USB-C cable and a user guide. Just turn it on and you’re good to go. The Soundbox is also covered by an 18-month limited warranty.
However, this device needs to be connected to the internet for it to carry out its function. You can do this either by connecting it to your WiFi network or you can also order this device with a SIM card package (kind of like ordering an LTE or WiFi iPad). The SIM card package is valid for 12 months and you can contact TNG’s helpdesk to renew it once that time is up.
That being said, in their FAQ it states that you can also use it with your own SIM card, but they recommend using their provided SIM for the best “connectivity and security”.
If you want to get your hands on the device, TNG is offering it to merchants for RM59.50 for just the device. If you want SIM connectivity, you’ll have to fork up RM139.50 for the 12-month SIM plan and device. I don’t know about you but that to me seems like a lot of money for something that I would say isn’t necessarily “essential” to running a small business.
Alex disagrees with my take, however. He feels like this device solves an actual problem, especially for those “aunty and uncle” shops who may have not enough time to check their app to ensure a payment has gone through when it gets busy. And I can see where he’s coming from because this will probably be helpful since you won’t have to direct your attention to checking your app.
For me it’s more about the cost, and I don’t know if having an audio readout of payments made via TNG eWallet or Duitnow QR is something worth spending your hard earned cash on. Especially if you can just turn on notification sounds on your smartphone. That bing bong from your device will probably be a lot faster than it takes the device to read the amount out loud.
But I’m not a small business operator, so what do I know about this? I’d love to hear your thoughts though. Is this something you’d buy for your business? Let me know in the comments below.
