In response to Apple Pay launching in the UK this week, Samsung has begun trialling its own payment system, Samsung Pay, in South Korea this week.
The payment service, powered by LoopPay, the mobile wallet company that Samsung bought for $250m in May, is being trialled on 1,000 select Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge phones in Samsung’s home country.
The payment service uses the same NFC communication as its Apple and Google rivals, but the technology it gained from LoopPay’s acquisition has the potential to make it stand out from the crowd.
LoopPay’s technology allows the Samsung phones to interact with payment terminals as if they were payment cards, meaning they can be used to communicate with magnetic stripe card readers.
When Samsung first announced that Samsung Pay would be delayed beyond July everyone expected it to be rolled-out in September. However, this pre-launch programme indicates that the roll-out will be sooner rather than later, no doubt spurred on by the release of Apple Pay.
Samsung Pay is expected to be officially launched in the US and South Korea at the same time as the company unveils the new Galaxy Note 5 handset next month.
Whitepapers
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