Samsung Terminates Wallet, Prepares for Samsung Pay Rollout in U.S., Europe and Korea (May 18, 2015)
Samsung is terminating its mobile wallet service at the end of June, paving the way for Samsung Pay, its mobile payment service for Android devices. Samsung Pay, expected to launch later this year in the U.S., Korea and Europe, will harness the technology of LoopPay—in February for a reported $250 million.
What enticed Samsung to make that kind of an investment in LoopPay? Largely, it seems, because LoopPay technology supports mobile contactless payments through its patented Magnetic Secure Transmission technology as well as NFC payments. So, Samsung Pay—right out of the gate—will work at virtually all payment terminals, including millions not yet upgraded for contactless transactions, which is the case for many U.S. small and midsize retailers. This could provide a near-term advantage for Samsung over NFC-only Apple Pay, which currently has limited usability at U.S. retailers, analysts say.
Samsung launched its soon-to-be-discontinued wallet for Android users in early 2013. Like several other wallets currently available, it enables users to store gift and loyalty cards and coupons on their handsets for redemption via barcodes. Samsung’s wallet wasn’t broadly used by consumers, so its loss will matter little as Samsung gathers its forces to take on Apple Pay, Rick Oglesby, research director for Double Diamond Group, tells Paybefore. “Samsung Pay clearly will replace Samsung Wallet, and there’s no point in creating consumer confusion by having multiple concepts out there. It makes sense to discontinue its wallet for a fresh start with Samsung Pay, which will clearly incorporate a wallet, just under a different name.”
Oberthur Technologies today announced it’s partnering with Samsung for the Samsung Pay European rollout and will provide the secure elements and provisioning to make new NFC-enabled Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge NFC-enabled handsets ready to support Samsung Pay.
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