Samsung Begins Testing Its Mobile Payments Platform
Samsung has begun rolling out a trial model of its mobile payments platform in South Korea, the company announced Thursday. Samsung Pay, the corporate’s reply to Apple Pay and Android Pay, is currently available to a select group of customers with the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge smartphones.
The trial suggests Samsung is getting nearer to a full rollout of its Apple Pay competitor. Although the company didn’t present an official launch date, earlier experiences suggest the united states launch is slated for September.
Samsung Pay works a lot like Apple Pay and the soon-to-be launched Android Pay.
“When it is time to pay, just launch the app, hold your Samsung device near the credit card terminal and authorize it with the touch of your finger,” Samsung wrote in a weblog.
But behind the scenes, Samsung’s platform takes a distinct strategy to mobile payments than its rivals. Like Apple Pay and Android Pay, Samsung Pay makes use of near field communication (NFC) to allow its phone-based payments. But not like its two rivals, the service additionally helps magnetic secure transmission (MST), a special standard that’s just like the magnetic strip on conventional bank or credit cards.
Unlike NFC, which continues to not be extensively supported at point-of-sale (POS) terminals, MST is supported at nearly each terminal that accepts bank cards; this might assist Samsung overcome preliminary roadblocks which have hindered widespread NFC adoption. In truth, it might be sufficient to assist Samsung overtake Apple and Google within the still-nascent mobile payments area.
For its half, Apple has additionally been ramping up its mobile payments platform. The firm expanded Apple Pay to the UK earlier this week, the first nation outside the United States to get access to the service.
Still, the timing of Samsung’s launch appears pretty quick in comparison with its opponents. In February, it acquired mobile payments firm LoopPay, one of many first indicators that Samung was serious about competing with Apple and Google.