Samsung Pay Launches In Spain, Singapore and Australia
Samsung is bringing its Samsung Pay mobile payment system in Spain, Singapore, and Australia. The launch marks a milestone in the service’s global expansion, with a number of additional markets, including Brazil, Canada and the U.K., planned this year.
According to Samsung, the service has processed more than $1 billion in transactions in South Korea since its launch less than a year ago, demonstrating the increased adoption.
Also since launching in the U.S. in September 2015 with four banks and support for credit, debit and private label credit card payments, Samsung Pay is now supported by 300 major and regional banks and credit unions. Services such as gift cards, and membership and loyalty features have been added as well with more than 110 merchants joining Samsung Pay’s Gift Card program and more than 140 retailers participating in its membership and loyalty cards program.
Building on its ecosystem, Samsung recently announced partnerships with both Citi for Asia Pacific and Ant Financial Services Group, parent company of Alipay, in China that further bolster Samsung Pay’s compatibility with payment networks and banks, and provide choice and flexibility to its users.
To make a payment on Samsung Pay, users swipe up on their eligible Galaxy smartphone, scan their fingerprint and pay. The service uses three levels of security to enable secure payments: fingerprint authentication, tokenization and Samsung KNOX.
Samsung Pay is leveraging both Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) and Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, which allow users to pay almost anywhere a card can be swiped or tapped.
Samsung Pay is currently available on select Galaxy devices including the new Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, S6 edge+, Note5 as well as mid-range options like the 2016 models of the Galaxy A5, A7 and A9.