Samsung Electronics recently announced the latest in mobile payment services, Samsung Pay, ushering in a new era of mobile payments and ecommerce. Samsung Pay allows consumers to transition to secure mobile payments at nearly all merchant locations. With Samsung Pay, consumers can utilise their mobile devices to pay at existing point-of-sale terminals. To achieve this, Samsung leverages both Near Field Communication (NFC) and a new proprietary technology called Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) to make mobile payments more accessible to merchants and consumers.
To deliver a best-in-class mobile payment solution, Samsung has partnered with major payment networks such as MasterCard and Visa. Additionally, Samsung is working hard to expand the partnership ecosystem for Samsung Pay with key financial partners globally, including American Express, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, and U.S. Bank, to provide greater flexibility, access, and choice for customers while enabling a simple and secure payment experience.
“Samsung Pay will reinvent how people pay for goods and services and transform how they use their smartphones,” said JK Shin, CEO and head of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics. “The secure and simple payment process, coupled with our robust partner network, makes Samsung Pay a truly game-changing service that will bring value to consumers and our partners in the ecosystem.”
Dan Wagner, eCommerce veteran and CEO of Powa Technologies, comments: “The launch of Samsung Pay along with its latest devices represents a step forward for the international mobile payment scene. Samsung launching into competition with Apple Pay demonstrates how two of the largest tech leaders in the world are putting mobile payment as a major priority. Samsung’s inclusion of magnetic strip recognition alongside Near Field Communication (NFC) puts it ahead of Apple Pay, bringing more versatility for users and merchants alike – especially in markets where magnetic strip readers are still the main payment method.”
Samsung Pay will initially be available in the United States and Korea this coming summer and expand to other regions, including Europe and China with Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge.
