NFC-cashless transaction pioneer Yeldi Softcom

NFC early mover Yeldi, the queue buster

By Anusha Ashwin
http://www.voicendata.com/queue-buster-yeldi/

Can an ordeal on a boat ride in the Island of Maldives pave way for the origin of a digital wallet company? Yes! It can. Way back in early 2008, Ra Arjunamurthy the Founder of Yeldi Softcom, was holidaying in Maldives when he encountered an ordeal in paying cash to the boatman for a ride in the middle of the sea. A born-entrepreneur, Arjunamurthy, then had a sudden brainwave about using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to create products in cashless transaction and digital payment space. He believed that the NFC technology could bring a revolution in the cashless payment ecosystem.

Chennai-based Yeldi has now emerged as a company that is actively engaged in research, products and end-to-end services based on NFC technology. The company is co-founded by Arjunamurthy’s daughter Lakshmi Deepa, who is a rare woman entrepreneur in the digital wallet space.

In 2009, the breakthrough was quite naturally set for Arjunamurthy, as that was the time when Android-based smartphones were progressively developed and as he worked on the prototype for an NFC Device and a digital payment card, Google, in 2011, launched ‘Google Wallet’, which validated that his research and product development were on the right track. Google Wallet is a peer-to-peer payments service developed by Google that allows people to send and receive money from a mobile device.

Queue Buster Product Strategy

Talking about the genesis of Yeldi, Founder Arjunamurthy says, “I wanted to create a product using NFC technology which would disrupt the market and as a seasoned telecom entrepreneur my experience indicated that the best bet was to target the cash market. With the line slowly blurring between offline and online world, there was a need to create cashless transactions for enhanced customer experience. I wanted to hit cash transactions at a level for people in the bottom of the pyramid as well as the top. That is the area where real financial inclusions take place. Also, I just did not want to create an NFC-based product but also wanted to be a value-added-service company catering to the needs of the customer from start to end in cashless transactions.”

While product development started in 2008, Yeldi’s business launch took place only in 2012 and commercial operations, in fact, started in mid-2015. In the interim period, Yeldi’s core product development team consulted various technology experts based out of US, UK, France and China. Yeldi developed its core NFC technology in collaboration with NXP Semiconductors. In 2009, the company was registered; 2010 to 2012 were the formative years for the company, where considerable investment was made in R&D. Arjunamurthy collaborated with NXP for the highly-secured chips and also identified a Chinese manufacturer for the NFC-based handset.

“My vision was to create a product that caters to every cashless petty transaction like the day-to-daykirana shop. Just imagine a housekeeper or maid using a pre-paid card to make a small transaction for purchase of groceries. You just need to top-up the card with money and the transaction details are sent through an SMS to your handheld Yeldi device. Similarly, I found a significant need for cashless payments in every vertical. Be it at restaurants, gas stations, healthcare centers, booking tickets and many more. If there is a queue for any service, my product should be that queue buster there,” says Arjunamurthy.

Catering to both B2B as well as B2C verticals, Yeldi’s products have found success in varied verticals like healthcare, hospitality, multiplex, airlines, corporate establishments and banks. Yeldi caters not only to the Indian markets but also overseas markets. A brief explanation of Yeldi’s products and services are listed below:

Yeldi’s Handset: Yeldi’s NFC-enabled handset has all the features of a latest Android smartphone. Besides the obvious functionality as a 3G/4G smartphone, it works as a secure mobile Point-of-Sale Terminal. In its functionality as a POS terminal, Yeldi’s handset will interact only with Yeldi’s own tags, ensuring utmost security. Currently, there are two models priced approximately at Rs 8,500 and Rs 12,000 respectively.

iTapIt: The National Development Bank Plc (NDBP) in Sri Lanka has launched a pre-paid wallet cum debit card, iTapIt, for use among its customers, malls, restaurants, tea plantations and at schools with the technology being provided by Yeldi. Sri Lanka’s tea and rubber plantation workers use this card to mark their attendance, record the number of hours worked and even collect wages through a simple tap.


Meal Card: National carrier Air India has implemented Yeldi’s pre-paid cards for micro-payments at its Chennai and Hyderabad IRCTC-run canteens. Some 3,000 ground staff employees have subsidized meals at these canteens. This is Yeldi’s first venture in offline transaction and in a closed group format. With Yeldi’s pre-paid card wallet, Air India employees just flash their NFC-enabled cards at Yeldi’s NFC-enabled smartphone that acts as a payment receiver to make payments for their coffee or lunch. The canteen management certainly rate Yeldi’s technology as advantageous as it busts the queue and is more secure and the hassle behind handling cash and tendering change has been eliminated. The queue gets cleared within minutes and it avoids the cumbersome transaction of small payments.

Laundromat Card: Upmarket Delhi-based Laundromat Gaurdini, which caters to a host of politicians, celebrities and industrialists, now accepts Yeldi cards for payments. Explaining in detail, Arjunamurthy says, “Usually such high profile people do not pick their clothes from Laundromats on their own. A chauffeur or a maid is assigned this work, and they might not necessarily have the knowledge to operate a debit or a credit card. This is where Yeldi plays a role. The Gaurdini laundry card owner can pre-load a fixed amount between Rs 1,000-2,000 onto the card. And anyone with the card can make payments by flashing it near the Yeldi device and the bill amount is automatically deducted from the card.”

Hospitality Card: High-end condominiums like Bounce Back and Nirvana are one of Yeldi’s clients in the hospitality sector. Yeldi’s cards act as a pre-paid card for residents at every point as an access card like at the gymnasium, club house and other in-house facilities.

Ara eTap: This was launched in 2012. Ara eTap is an NFC sticker-based mobile payments service. Consumers who sign up for the service will be provided with an NFC sticker or a tag to attach to their mobile phones. The customer can buy an ara eTap, which is a tag, use the secret PIN given to him/her and can transact across all major product and service outlets.

Merchant Business Boosters: This is best suited for owners of portable restaurants, small (Kirana) shops, retail chains or an e-commerce online portal. When a merchant purchases Yeldi’s handset, he is given 500 Yeldi’s digital wallet cards. A tap-and-pay feature allows the merchant’s customers to pay for the transaction, which can be mobile recharge, payment of bills, and booking movie tickets among others.

Yeldi’s Mobile App: The mobile app is inbuilt and can be customized for every customer. The app will allow customers to place orders or schedule appointments, check the latest offers, view past transactions, etc.

Ambitious Roadmap

With a strong belief that his products have the potential to disrupt the digital wallet market and the potential to replace credit cards, Arjunamurthy spells out his plans for the future. He says, “Being at the cusp of digital wallet innovation, scaling up will be a natural phenomenon for Yeldi. Our products have been widely accepted nationally and internationally. In the coming years, Yeldi will foray into Qatar, Philippines, Bangladesh and Malaysia. By the end of 2016, Yeldi will tie-up with 16 national and international banks to launch a service similar to Sri Lanka’s National Development Bank.”

In the next 18 months, Yeldi intends to sell 300,000 units of NFC phones, which means that consequently along with the phone there will be a scale-up of sales of digital cards, tags or stickers. Yeldi will gain commissions from each transaction. A plan is also underway to manufacture the phones in India. “I am in advanced stage of talks with a manufacturer to make my handsets here in India as the demand rises. The reason behind this thinking is that once my phone is sold to a customer, my job does not end there. My company has to be a continuous service provider like an email service provider. Every time a customer makes a recharge with Yeldi’s card I am benefitted. Large part of the Return on Investment (RoI) for me is dependent on this recharge market.” The company is also in talks with some of India’s premier educational institutions to seek advice on creating an absolute secured handset in India.

Currently, Yeldi has an employee base of 100 and is planning to expand the headcount to 240 by 2017. Building an efficient sales team will be the company’s human resource manager’s primary focus as the company has three products in the pipeline and the launch has been scheduled for the next two years. Creating a pan-India presence will be the sales team’s top priority.

Yeldi, since inception, has been a bootstrapped company. Until recently in March 2016, the promoters of the company diluted 26 per cent stake in favor of an undisclosed private equity investor. Yeldi is currently valued at $200 million and Arjunamurthy’s aim is to touch $2 billion by 2018. “$2 billion is just a figure. My company’s true value will be recognized when my products earn 1 million subscribers. Garnering 1 million subscribers is my ultimate goal,” he says.

How to choose a safe car in India?

How to choose a safe car in India?

This article is part of our Road Safety Challenges.http://indiatransportportal.com/safe-car-india-29990

With bestselling entry-level cars in India failing global NCAP’s crash tests, the Indian government is ensuring that compliance with basic safety regulations that are at par with international norms will be mandatory in the next couple of years.

As one of the fastest growing car markets in the world, India has to shed its dubious distinction of being the country with the most number of road traffic accidents and fatalities. 

Safety features in a car include air bags, seat belts and crumple zones—features that in the event of a collision absorb the kinetic energy. These features reduce chances and extent of injury to passengers when the vehicle deforms. 

To prevent skidding or to minimize injury from an accident, modern cars are equipped with an anti-lock braking system, safety cage and traction control. Headrests prevent whiplash in rear impact accidents. 

Airbags are helpful in frontal crashes. Adjustable seats, paddles shift controls, electric windows and cruise control go a long way in reducing distractions and providing comfort while driving. 

Other safety features that buyers can consider are a backup camera, parking and side view assist, reverse backup and forward-looking sensors, adaptive headlights and cruise control.



Source: http://www.howsafeisyourcar.com.au/Safety-Features/Crash-Protection-Features/

In January 2014, five popular compact cars – Maruti Alto 800, Ford Figo, Tata Nano, Volkswagen Polo and Hyundai i10 – received zero adult protection ratings from NCAP as they had “inadequate vehicle structures that collapsed to varying degrees.” With popular models from major auto makers failing crash tests, the Centre will have to ensure compliance with stringent safety norms in the future. There are different types of this destructive testing that helps decide the ‘crashworthiness’ and level of safety an automobile can offer.



Source: http://www.globalncap.org/un-crash-test-standards-would-make-cars-safer-in-india-says-global-ncap/

Although the Global New Car Assessment Programme (GNCAP) has recently shown that fast-selling models such as the Maruti Swift and the Nissan Datsun Go may soon lose that tag after having failed the crash tests, Vishnu Mathur from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said that testing under India-specific would give accurate results. “Our average speed in India is far slower. To say that a particular car hasn’t met its (Global NCAP) test is nothing but scaremongering,” said Mathur. According to the global agency, these cars have shown “high risk of life-threatening injuries with both cars receiving zero-star safety rating for their adult occupant protection”. The report added, “These risks would be significantly reduced if the cars had to comply with the UN test regulation for frontal and side impact.” In defence of Maruti and Nissan, it must be mentioned that both auto makers have complied with all safety norms in India. According to the GNCAP, the lack of structural integrity and basic features like airbags account for these appalling safety ratings. The Renault Pulse and Duster, Nissan Micra, Hyundai i20, Ford EcoSport, Skoda Fabia, Honda Accord, and the Toyota Etios promise the buyer basic safety features such as air bags and ABS in some variants.



Source: http://www.outlookindia.com/article/We-The-Crash-Test-Dummies/293254

The Indian road ministry said that by October 2017–2019, basic side and frontal crash tests will be mandatory for all new and existing models.




The new Central Motor Vehicle Rules will delineate new safety norms and some restrictions that will hopefully usher in a new era of road safety in price-conscious India. 

The Indian government will set up testing facilities in Pune, Chennai and Manesar to get results that are based on local conditions. “Studies show that people have low sensitivity towards high security features. Indian car owners have little desire to have basic safety features like airbags, rear parking assist and rear windscreen wipers,” said JD Power Asia Pacific Executive Director, Mohit Arora. After going through a prolonged slump, one has to wait and see how counter-productive the expected price increases will be in the next couple of years.

Home Monitoring & Control Kit

Panasonic Home Monitoring & Control Kit hands-on review
By Peter Chubb - Mar 9, 2016

More of us are turning to securing our homes ourselves for two reason; the first is because it is a lot cheaper these days, and second, because of the ability to control the functions of these security devices via our smartphones and tablets. There is also another reason, and that is being able to install these systems on your own because there is no need for wires in most cases – well maybe just for the power.

There is one drawback though with the self-install system, we are not certain if that will help reduce your house and contents insurance premiums because of not being fitted by a qualified person. Then again, for most people it’s not about that, as it’s more about keeping your home safe from intruders, and this is where the Panasonic Home Monitoring & Control Kit KX-HN6012 comes in.



This is no traditional alarm, but rather spec tech instead. This means that you are able to control your home with the use of an app, called the Access Tester, which can be downloaded from the Apple or Google Play stores.



Before we offer our own hands-on review of the Smart Home Monitoring and Control Kit. The pack consists of the main Smart Hub, along with a Smart Plug, Window/Door Sensors, an Indoor Camera, along with batteries and also instructions. If you would like to keep an eye on the outside of your home, then there is an optional Outdoor Camera.



All of the devices listed above connect to each other wirelessly, and so gives you the freedom to move things around as needed – or even take the entire system away if you are moving home.



The images on the box gave us the impression that the items inside would be small, yet functional, and this was just the case. We loved the white design because it goes with anything colour scheme you have in your home. There is certainly a lot of packaging, something that we think Panasonic should consider reducing.



If you have never set up anything like this before, then it can be a little daunting seeing an array of devices in the box. However, don’t be put off because it’s easier than you think – although some knowledge of how smartphone and tablet apps work is needed.



You have two options when setting up, which does depend on how tech savvy you are. The first is a Quick Setup Guide, and the other, detailed step-by-step instructions of what to do. The former of these guides was the one we went for, which instructed us to download the Panasonic Home Network System app, which you can see the links for above. You are then able to connect the main Hub to your Wi-Fi network, which was a very simple process.



You don’t have to be any sort of expert to know that the main part of this system is the Hub, as it’s this that allows all other components to connect to each other up to a maximum of 300 metres away. It’s also the Hub that has an SD Card slot so that you can record extra footage from the camera that you have connected.



All three devices were very easy to setup, and install in the appropriate places – but don’t turn the Hub off by mistake, as it renders the entire system useless. Now we know that some reviews have said this is more of a flaw in the system, but what else did they think would happen? We have included the official tutorial video from Panasonic below to help show you just what the system is about.



What we do find handy is how you are able to add more to this kit, so maybe an outdoor camera as well, along with a few more door/window sensors. Adding more devices is a simple task, and also gives you greater control over your home.



During testing we found one feature very handy, and that was the ability to have video footage recording at all times, or to use the motion sensor. This came in handy when we had to pop out for a couple of hours and left the dog in the home – well we did not want the dog keep turning the camera on all the time, and so was far better to let the system keep recording. However, we did find it very funny to see what little Stanley had been getting up to while we were out of the house – let’s just say he has a very mischievous side to him



On a more serious note, we also have a small child in the home, and so it is good to have the motion sensor turned on, as this allows you to know if he has been getting out of bed, although you can also use it as a perfect baby monitor, as it has two-way communication.



If we were to offer any sort of criticism, it would be the need to plug the indoor camera into a wall socket, which does limit its usefulness in a way, especially as the power cable is not that long in the first place. Having said that, there is always a way to make it work, you just have to get inventive with how you hide an extension cable. We had the camera fixed to a stud wall, and therefore it was easy to pull the wire behind to hide it.



Using the app to control things was very easy, and being able to watch the live stream impressed us, and we were even more shocked with the quality of the footage –although don’t expect anything as good as 1080p, as it’s far from that, but good enough.



We were impressed with how we were alerted on our phone when the motion sensor camera detected something going on, and started to record right away. This is a great feature if you are out and someone has broken in, that way you are able to call the police and have them send an officer to your home.



We have not used the camera as much as we hoped to, this is to do with a recent move. However, our early impressions are positive, especially using it as a decent baby monitor.



There are many places to buy the Panasonic Home Monitoring and Control Kit, although we found the better option was Currys at a cost of £229.99. We are now thinking of adding the Outdoor Camera to complement the system, along with a couple of other window/door sensors – yes we really are keeping this security system set up for good, as its far more diverse than a standard system.