Today, Samsung Pay mobile payment system is one of the most popular on the market and compares favorably with competing Google Pay and Apple Pay services with the support of MST technology for working with classic terminals for magnetic stripe bank cards.
In 2019, the Samsung Pay user base exceeded 14 million people. For comparison, the market leader Apple Pay has more than 380 million people, but the Samsung system is rapidly gaining market positions.
Since the launch in 2015, the functionality and availability of Samsung Pay have expanded significantly. Now the service works in more than 25 countries of the world, and if earlier it was supported exclusively by the flagship models of the company's smartphones, now it is available on mid-range mass models and on the company's smartwatches.
If we talk about the functionality, then in addition to the usual contactless payments, Samsung Pay supports depositing/withdrawing funds from ATMs and payments on prepaid and transit cards. In the future, Samsung plans to expand the capabilities of the service through cooperation with Woori Bank and release a new add-on for currency exchange with support for the 15 most popular currencies, including the US dollar, euro and Japanese yen.
International payments and other new features of Samsung Pay
Recently at Samsung Electronics Co. reported that it launched a beta version of the cross-border money transfer service in Samsung Pay mobile payment system.
Beta service is available in 17 countries, including the USA, China and Japan. The company plans to gradually expand the service to other countries, as well as to add new partners. The company said it was able to dramatically reduce fees for money transfer services using pre-financing and pooling methods.
To transfer money abroad, Samsung Pay users can use an existing bank account, rather than create a new one. The money transfer service is offered in various formats, including receiving cash from an agent and direct transfer to a specific account.
Samsung Pay clients in the USA can use their previously registered debit or credit cards with Samsung Pay to conduct transactions through the Finablr global network. In addition, users will be aware of fees and exchange rates before making a money transfer. The company plans to launch this feature in other countries as early as 2020.
Samsung Pay Cash Card
Samsung began testing a large-scale update to the Samsung Pay service, which included a debit card called Samsung Pay Cash, and even its own cashback program. Now users do not have to worry about the fact that their bank does not support the contactless Samsung service, because you can issue a virtual card for payments directly in the application and at the same time do not pay anything for its service.
Apparently, Samsung Pay Cash is Samsung's answer to the Apple Card. True, their main difference is that Samsung has not yet been able to find a bank that would provide its users with a bank credit limit.
Therefore, it was decided to confine only to a debit card, which must be replenished with our own funds. However, at the same time, Samsung managed to expand the potential audience of its card, since its design does not require verification of the holder’s solvency. The introduction of credit cards in the system is expected in the near future.
Now Samsung Pay Cash cards are available in test mode for users from the United States, however, it is expected that in the near future they will be available worldwide.