Samsung, in a potential partnership with LoopPay, is looking to introduce its own mobile payment solution. Samsung needs to act fast if it wants to keep pace with its competitor Apple however. The roster of banks and retailers on board with Apple Pay continues to grow, despite the relatively low adoption of the payment system.
Apple Pay has managed to sign up a dozen or so more banks to Apple Pay, including Barclaycards, USAA and TD Bank North America. The payment system now supports payment cards that represent some 90 per cent of all transactions by purchase volume in the US. And more retailers are installing the required NFC technology in their stores and starting to accept Apple Pay payments, such as Staples and Albertsons.
Samsung's rumoured offering however would not require stores to install any new NFC technology in order to accept mobile payments. Partnering with mobile payment start-up LoopPay, the next generation of Samsung hardware could have magnetic secure transmission technology built-in. LoopPay's tech allows a smartphone to replicate the swipe of a card. This solution would eliminate the need for stores to update their payment systems. Samsung's solution could be accepted in more locations than Apple Pay right off the bat.
As it stands, neither Samsung or LoopPay have commented on the rumours, but LoopPay CEO, Will Graylin, did tell Recode earlier this year that his company’s technology would be embedded into a mainstream smartphone in 2015 that would have “massive penetration.”
So the competition in the mobile payments space is heating up nicely and this will hopefully continue to push such solutions into the mainstream. My only disappointment with the offerings coming out of the well-established players in the market is the single track minded solutions being offered. At the moment, the solutions with the biggest backing only improve the experience of shopping in-store. I want an omni-channel solution - an easy, secure solution that works the same whether I'm online, in-store or on-the-go. *cough Onescan *cough
By Matthew Taylor 17th December 2014
Related stories around the web
Samsung in talks to launch Apple Pay competitor - Recode
Apple Pay recruits dozens of new banks and stores - Wired
Apple Pay draws "dozens" more banks, retail stores - Mobile World Live
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