Samsung reportedly in negotiations with mobile commerce firm LoopPay
Google and Apple may soon have strong competition in the mobile commerce field. South Korean electronics company Samsung is reportedly in negotiations with LoopPay, a mobile payments firm based in the United States. While the two companies have not yet officially announced plans to work together, Samsung has been showing strong interest in the mobile commerce space recently. The company sees a great deal of promise in mobile payments and could begin entering into the market within the next few years.
Android devices continues to help mobile commerce grow
Mobile commerce has thrives on the Android platform over the past year. Approximately 83% of the smartphones shipped during the last quarter are powered by the Android operating system, and many of these devices come equipped with mobile payment applications, such as Google Wallet. The Wallet platform has yet to find success among consumers, which has led many to use a wide variety of payment applications. Samsung could capitalize on this by offering a new payment service that would also come pre-installed on Android devices.
Samsung is no stranger to mobile payments
Though Samsung has not made an official entry into the mobile commerce market with its own payment service, the company is no stranger to the market itself. In 2012, Samsung partnered with Visa to released a special version of the Galaxy S3 smartphone, which supported Visa’s payWave technology. Last year, the companies expanded this partnership, bringing payWave supporting devices to 40 European countries. Rumors suggest that Samsung has also begun working with PayPal to support mobile payments on wearable devices.
Apple may find a strong competitor in Samsung
If Samsung decides to enter into the mobile commerce market, it may become Apple’s most significant competition. Apple released its own mobile payments service earlier this year, which has won praise among retail organizations and consumers alike. The service is only available for one iOS device, however, which has limited its appeal to some consumers. A platform developed by Samsung would likely be available for numerous Android devices, many of which Samsung has developed itself.
There are rumors that Alibaba, one of the largest e-commerce organizations in the world, will purchase eBay, or perhaps PayPal, within the near future. These rumors have little evidence to support their substance, but Alibaba has been known to purchase companies that have been competing with it in the digital commerce space. Whether or not eBay would agree to be acquired by Alibaba is little more than a matter of speculation currently.