Tag: samsung pay

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.

Samsung brings its payment platform to China

Samsung Pay has officially launched in China with the aid of China UnionPay, one of the country’s largest banks. The mobile payments service has been tested somewhat extensively in South Korea and other markets, where it has found modest success. Samsung believes that the service will find a foothold in China, as many consumers are mobile-centric and interested in using their devices to shop for and purchase products.

Several companies are flocking to China to find success in mobile commerce

Samsung is the latest company to break into China’s mobile commerce market. This market has been growing quickly over the past few years, with several organizations working to find success in this sector. Companies like Apple have also come to China in order to make mobile payments more accessible to consumers. While foreign companies may see promise in the Chinese market, they may find it difficult to find the success they so desire. This is because of the massive companies, like Alibaba and Tencent, that have already established a foothold in the mobile payments space.

Samsung may find it difficult to compete with well established services

Both WeChat and Alipay have become extremely popular among consumers in China. These services also have the support of prominent financial institutions, giving them the ability to connect with a wide variety of consumers throughout the country. Samsung and Apple lack this well established support, though they are backed by some of the country’s major banks. As such, they may find it difficult to promote their services over those being offered by larger players in the mobile commerce space.

Security features may allow Samsung Pay to find a foothold in China

Samsung Pay may find support among consumers because of its security features. Security, or lack thereof, has been a major concern for many consumers, which has prevented them from participating in the mobile payments space. Samsung Pay features support for a fingerprint scanner, which can be used to authenticate a transaction. This makes the service somewhat more secure than its competitors, though more companies are beginning to use biometric technology in order to make consumers comfortable with the idea of mobile payments.