Samsung Electronics, on Monday, celebrated the third anniversary of its mobile payment platform, Samsung Pay. Launched on August 20, 2015 in South Korea, Samsung Pay has seen a significant global growth over the three years. The platform is now available in 24 markets across six continents, and has recently surpassed 1.3 billion transactions globally.
DJ Koh, President and CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics, was visibly ecstatic about the success Samsung Pay has achieved globally, and promised to enhance the platform even further.
“Since we launched Samsung Pay three years ago, we have been dedicated to delivering a mobile wallet platform that is simple, secure and works almost anywhere. We have been expanding its availability and forming strategic partnerships in each market to meet the unique needs of their users. And we’re not limiting ourselves to a mobile wallet – by integrating with our other mobile services, consumers will be able to earn Samsung Rewards points, use Bixby for a more seamless payment experience and more,” Mr. Koh said.
Why Samsung Pay?
While there exist a number of mobile payment platforms, Samsung Pay has one big advantage that no other has. The platform is compatible with both NFC (Near Field Communication) with MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) technologies. This essentially means it works almost anywhere you can swipe or tap your card. This convenience of use means Samsung Pay now has approximately 2,000 banking and financial partners globally.
Based on local needs, Samsung Pay offers various value-added services in different markets. For instance, it offers online payments in 15 markets, including Australia, Brazil, Switzerland and Taiwan, transit cards in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and the U.K, and more. Samsung Pay also offers loyalty and membership cards in 20 of the 24 markets it’s available in.
Other features of Samsung Pay include Samsung Rewards, which gives users points for every payment they make through the app. The points can be redeemed to purchase merchant partner vouchers and Samsung products and services. Bixby integration allows users to make purchases at popular merchants with one simple voice command. There’s also a Pay Planner which keeps track transactions, offering tips to the users to spend more wisely. Samsung Pay also offers ATM transactions in 5 markets including Russia, South Korea, UAE, U.S. and Vietnam.
While Samsung Pay is compatible with most of the high-end Samsung Galaxy smartphones, a stripped-down version of it (Samsung Pay Mini) works on lower-end Samsung smartphones, and Android smartphones from other brands as well. Samsung Pay also works on Samsung smartwatches. However, service functionality and device compatibility may vary by market. Samsung Pay compatibility and functionality may vary across cards issued by the same bank as well.
