ToneTag has launched eKosha, a voice-first business assistant designed to help banks deliver everyday banking services directly to merchants through existing payment acceptance devices. Built for India’s 80 million-plus MSMEs, the solution combines payments, banking and AI to enable seamless merchant engagement without requiring additional infrastructure.
Powered by ToneTag’s proprietary analog Edge AI and Small Action Language Model (SALM), eKosha enables merchants to access banking services, personalised credit offers, business insights, government schemes and customer support through natural voice conversations in their preferred language. The device supports UPI, UPI 123Pay and CBDC payments while functioning as an always-on banking touchpoint, even in low-connectivity environments.
By creating a continuous engagement channel at the merchant counter, eKosha enables banks to strengthen merchant relationships, improve credit assessment and accelerate loan origination. According to ToneTag, banks using the platform can reduce merchant servicing costs by up to 60%, double cross-selling opportunities and lower merchant churn from 15–20% to 6–9%.
Commenting on the launch, Kumar Abhishek, Founder and CEO, ToneTag, said, “The merchant counter has always been at the centre of India’s commerce. With eKosha, we are reimagining it as the centre of merchant banking. For the first time, banks have a dedicated, always-on engagement channel embedded where merchants conduct business every day, enabling access to banking services through simple, natural conversations in their own language. This fundamentally changes how banks serve, support and build relationships with merchants while helping them improve service efficiency and unlock new growth opportunities.”
Mohandas Pai, Chairman, Aarin Capital at the launch, said, “India’s next phase of growth depends on improving the productivity of both capital and labour. Technologies such as voice-first AI and digital payments can help banks serve millions of MSMEs more efficiently while lowering costs and expanding access to financial services. Solutions like eKosha have the potential to transform every merchant touchpoint into a banking channel, enabling faster transactions, better credit access and stronger business outcomes. By making banking simple, intuitive and available in local languages, technology can empower entrepreneurs, improve competitiveness and support India’s ambition of building a more productive and globally competitive economy.”
Designed for direct deployment by banks, eKosha requires no app downloads, digital literacy or changes in merchant behaviour, making banking services more accessible while helping financial institutions build stronger and more profitable merchant ecosystems.
