Tag: mobile wallet

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.

The mobile wallet solution will enable the distribution and use of digital aid in emergency situations.

According to a recent press release from Ericsson, the Swedish-based multinational telecommunications and equipment corporation is developing Ericsson Emergency Wallet, which is a mobile financial services solution designed for immediate deployment directly following a disaster or crises to support both affected populations and humanitarian organizations providing aid to these devastated regions.

The idea behind the emergency wallet is to help bring relief where financial infrastructure is lacking.

While this mobile wallet will no doubt be beneficial when a crisis strikes in any part of the world, the Ericsson Emergency Wallet is chiefly being developed for use in emergency circumstances where financial infrastructure is poor or virtually non-existent. It will provide relief workers and impacted populations with relief funds, helping to overcome problems that often arise with handling cash such as traceability, safety and expense.

The Ericsson Emergency Wallet could extend the benefits of relief funds to the people who desperately need them.

According to the press release, there is an urgent need for an emergency wallet solution. The reason is that mobile money and mobile wallets are among the safest, fastest and most efficient methods of extending the basic financial transaction benefits to the people who require them.

Many of the telecommunication company’s humanitarian partners have requested digital financial services solutions for disasters and other situations of emergency, and Ericsson has already presented its wallet plans at the World Humanitarian Summit, in support of the United Nations’ Connecting Business Initiative.

Moreover, the design and prototyping of the emergency wallet is co-funded through the Level One Project from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“In partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we are helping to build a new ecosystem that creates better opportunities for global financial inclusion. This unique combination of partners will be a powerful catalyst for bringing mobile financial services to humanitarian relief efforts everywhere,” stated Elaine Weidman-Grunewald, Vice President, Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility, Ericsson.

The Ericsson Emergency Wallet shows the potential ICT (Information and Communication Technology) has to revolutionize humanitarian response.