Samsung Pay, which is to be available in September, stands out from other competitors as it supports virtually all forms of payment — near field communication (NFC), magnetic secure transmission (MST) and barcode technologies — to reach far more point-of-sale devices than its rivals. (image: Samsung Electronics)
SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Korea Bizwire) – Prior to the official launch of Samsung Pay, Samsung Electronics‘ simple on and offline payment solution, Korean card companies are busy preparing for the service.
According to credit card industry representatives, Samsung Card, Samsung Group’s card company, and BC Card are now offering a trial run of Samsung Pay to give customers the chance to experience the service before its full launch in September.
Samsung Card, which began operating “Samsung Pay Experience”, is recruiting a second phase of beta testers from August 1. Its second beta test will begin on August 7. BC Card, which collected beta tester applications from July 28 to 30, will have its users experience the new payment service from August 3 to 20 at major offline shops.
Samsung Pay, which is to be available in September, stands out from other competitors as it supports virtually all forms of payment — near field communication (NFC), magnetic secure transmission (MST) and barcode technologies — to reach far more point-of-sale devices than its rivals.
Currently, other mobile payment services are used mainly online as they lack offline affiliates.
Industry watchers predict that Samsung Pay could be adopted at over 90 percent of the stores and restaurants in America and Korea. Samsung Electronics is also predicting that Samsung Pay could be accepted at approximately 30 million stores all over the world.
According to Samsung Card, consumers’ reactions to the service were positive.
A beta tester for Samsung Pay said, “Without my wallet, I can make payments using only my smart phone at all stores. The service is expected to replace the wallet with a smart phone.”
An official at Samsung Card said, “As more customers are showing interest in the service, we are recruiting a second phase of beta testers. By offering a secure and convenient payment service, we will lead the mobile payment service industry.”
By John Choi (johnchoi@koreabizwire.com)
