Samsung may be preparing to show off its new payments platform
Samsung may be planning to reveal its new mobile payments platform as early as next week. The company is expected to unveil the platform at the upcoming Mobile World Congress. The company is speculated to have partnered with Visa to develop the new service, which is called Samsung Pay. The new platform could serve as direct competition with Apple Pay, which has managed to establish a strong foothold in the mobile payments sector in the United States.
NFC technology will continue to be supported in the mobile commerce space
Samsung has shown significant interest in mobile transactions in the past. Many of the company’s smartphones are equipped with NFC technology. This technology can be used for various purposes, such as engaging with dynamic marketing and sharing digital media with other NFC-enabled devices. NFC does comprise the backbone of most mobile payments services, however, making it one of the foundational technologies in the mobile commerce space. Samsung is expected to roll out the service alongside the launch of its new smartphone, the Galaxy 6, which will also be equipped with NFC technology.
Samsung Pay will not only support NFC-based mobile payments
Though much of the mobile payments space is governed by NFC technology, Samsung Pay may not be exclusive to those with NFC-enabled devices. The new platform is expected to be able to support mobile transactions even without utilizing NFC technology. This could make it more accommodating to consumers that do not have NFC-enabled devices and make it more accessible to the retail industry as a whole. Retailers without NFC-enable point-of-sale systems would be able to accept transactions made through Samsung Pay.
Samsung Pay could become significant competition for Apple Pay in the coming months
Rumors suggest that Samsung Pay will be compatible with as much as 90% of the point-of-sale systems that are being used by retailers currently. If this is true, this would make it more accessible than Apple Pay, which supports only NFC-based transactions. Samsung Pay could, therefore, become a major competitor to Apple Pay.
Denny |
December 19, 2014
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.
