April 27, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics said on Aug. 22 that its mobile payment solution Samsung Pay has recently exceeded 1.3 billion transactions in global markets.

The Korean tech giant launched the mobile payment service in Aug. 2015, joining the global race led by firms like Google, and Apple.

“Since we launched Samsung Pay three years ago, we have been dedicated to delivering a mobile wallet platform that is simple, secure and works almost anywhere,” said Koh Dong-jin, CEO of Samsung’s mobile business division.

“We’re not limiting ourselves to a mobile wallet -- by integrating with our other mobile services, consumers will be able to earn Samsung Rewards points, use Bixby for a more seamless payment experience and more.”

The mobile payment solution is available in 24 nations with the latest addition being South Africa. The company has partnerships with some 2,000 banking and financial companies globally.

Although it varies from country to country, services available through the payment solution include a transit card, a loyalty and membership card, ATM transactions.

For example, in Hong Kong, Samsung has exclusively partnered with the Octopus Card, a smartcard payment system operator, to bring NFC-enabled payments to the market’s transit and retail establishments. Samsung’s other partners include Ticket, one of the largest benefits card providers for organizations in Brazil, and El Corte Ingles department store in Spain.

Samsung’s archrival Apple, meanwhile, has been trying to expand its presence by teaming up with retail giants including Costco. In the second quarter this year alone, the US firm’s own mobile payment system Apple Pay saw the number of transactions exceed 1 billion.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)