Tag: American Express

This mobile wallet has now made its way Down Under and aims to replace cash and train tickets.

In the competitive world of mobile payments, the Samsung Pay app has now launched in a new market. Australians have another mobile wallet choice in this area where there are many rivals but where adoption is scarce.

Mobile wallet apps have not been taking off at the rate expected by many of the companies behind them.

The Samsung Pay app was launched as a result of a partnership with both Citibank and American Express. The goal is to be the first contactless mobile payments platform to truly take off in the country.

Australians who use Samsung smartphones can pay at contactless terminals through those mobile devices. They simply need to download the mobile wallet and connect it with an American Express or Citibank card. That said, they cannot use Citibank and Amex branded cards from other banks with this mobile application.

The Samsung Pay app lets consumers complete payment transactions through tap and pay terminals.

This has made Australia the fifth market to be able to use Samsung Pay. Before Australia, the countries using this mobile app have been: Korea, the United States, China and Spain. That said, Singapore followed closely on its heels, having launched only days later.

Samsung Pay will function on any Galaxy smartphone, provided it has at least Android 6.0 Marshmallow or higher. Its interface is designed to be simple and straightforward with a swipe to pay format. Samsung claims this makes it just as easy to pay with a smartphone as it is with a card. In fact, the company said it might be even easier for some.

The Korean consumer electronics company also identified four secure steps that are taken to complete every Samsung Pay app transaction:

• Open payments by swiping up from the home screen
• Select the desired card
• Place your finger on the home button so you can verify your fingerprint
• Tap the smartphone against a contactless terminal

The mobile payments system uses tokenization to make certain that card details remain private. They are never shared with the merchant.

Federal Reserve takes note of the growing prominence of mobile payments throughout the country

Mobile payments are catching on in the United States. According to information from the Federal Reserve, more people are using their smartphones to manages their funds than ever before. Doing so represents a convenient way to conduct commerce, as mobile devices can be used anywhere and at any time. The Federal Reserve has made note of a spike in mobile banking from 2013, with more people opting to manage their bank accounts online from a smartphone or tablet.

Smartphone users are showing favor for mobile banking and mobile commerce in general

According to the Federal Reserve, 39% of smartphone owners are actively using a mobile banking application, an increase from the 33% of consumers that did so in 2013. The agency has also made note of an increase in mobile payments in 2014. The agency’s information shows that 22% of smartphone owners made a mobile payment in 2014, up from the 17% of mobile consumers that did so in 2013. Notably, the vast majority of those that did make a mobile payment did so by using QR codes, which have become a very powerful mobile commerce tool.

Banks are seeing more mobile activity thanks to new payment services that have been launched recently

Banks in the United States expect mobile banking and payments to gain popularity. One of the reasons more consumers are showing interest in mobile payments has to do with the launch of new services, such as Apple Pay. Most of the country’s major banks signed up to support Apple Pay when it launched in October of 2014, and many have seen an increase in mobile payments activity since then. According to Apple, $2 of every $3 spent across Visa, MasterCard, and American Express networks is being made through Apple Pay.

Better security features are making consumers more comfortable with the concept of mobile payments

Mobile payments are expected to continue gaining traction throughout the United States. Consumers are becoming less wary of mobile commerce as services become more secure and capable of protecting their financial information.