Samsung unveils Apple Card competitor dubbed 'Samsung Money by SoFi'

AppleInsider

Samsung has launched a new mobile-first money management system called Samsung Money, complete with an accompanying Mastercard and exclusive Samsung Pay benefits.

Samsung Money was designed in partnership with fintech company SoFi, and is known officially as "Samsung Money by SoFi."

"Samsung's goal is to make everyday life better by putting powerful tools in the hands of Galaxy users," said Sang Ahn, Vice President and GM of Samsung Pay, North America Service Business, Samsung Electronics. "Now, users can access mobile-first financial services and earn exclusive Samsung benefits. We're excited to help our users reach their financial dreams by allowing them to spend, save and grow their money and access it easily and securely."

Unlike the Apple Card, Samsung Money is not a credit card. Instead, it acts similar to a bank account or credit union. A Samsung Money account is FDIC insured for up to $1.5 million, and account holders benefit from what the company calls "defense-grade security" from Samsung Knox.

Cardholders will be able to check their balance, pause or restart spending, freeze or unfreeze their card, change their pin, all from the Samsung Pay app.

Like the Apple Card, the physical debit card issued by Samsung Money will not display the card number, expiration date, or card security code (CVV). If users need to access any of that information, they can find it within the "Money" tab of the Samsung Pay app.

The announcement points out that the account is secure, with no account fees. Additionally, those who choose to save money with Samsung Pay will earn higher interest than the national average rate.

Samsung Money by SoFi will be available to U.S. customers later this summer and will be exclusive to those who own a Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

beowulfschmidt

No.  Negative.

viclauyyc

S.M. is not for everyone. 

bsnjon

Samsung has actually picked a smart strategy here. They limit reliance on partners like Goldman Sachs, and not being a credit card means there are more potential users in future.

tnet-primary

Just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?

sagan_student

bsnjon said:

Samsung has actually picked a smart strategy here. They limit reliance on partners like Goldman Sachs, and not being a credit card means there are more potential users in future.

How does Apple Cash play into all of this? Would that not be something similar? I don’t live in the states so I am not sure about how it works, but I am thinking it is similar to this strategy. Can anyone with experience verify this?

igorsky

How in the world is this an "Apple Card competitor"?  Nobody in the Apple ecosystem is going to go for this, and probably vice versa.

igorsky

bsnjon said:

Samsung has actually picked a smart strategy here. They limit reliance on partners like Goldman Sachs, and not being a credit card means there are more potential users in future.

Fascinating that you view Apple's partnership with the premier investment bank in the world as some sort of weakness.

bsnjon

igorsky said:

bsnjon said:

Samsung has actually picked a smart strategy here. They limit reliance on partners like Goldman Sachs, and not being a credit card means there are more potential users in future.

Fascinating that you view Apple's partnership with the premier investment bank in the world as some sort of weakness.

Goldman Sachs became big and powerful because it is good at making money, for itself. That’s money not going to Apple. 

Also, the strategic reason GS wants to enter the consumer market and get some of Apple’s brand cachet is that they understand that People are beginning to remember that they have been involved in a bunch of really shady stuff. These giant investment banks and private equity firms control far too much of our economic/political system. 

sflocal

AppleInsider said:

... and account holders benefit from what the company calls "defense-grade security" from Samsung Knox.

Anyone in the industry knows that Knox is a joke and was compromised the moment it was introduced... Shame on Scamscum for pushing a flawed product out as something it is not.

jcs2305

sagan_student said:

bsnjon said:

Samsung has actually picked a smart strategy here. They limit reliance on partners like Goldman Sachs, and not being a credit card means there are more potential users in future.

How does Apple Cash play into all of this? Would that not be something similar? I don’t live in the states so I am not sure about how it works, but I am thinking it is similar to this strategy. Can anyone with experience verify this?

https://support.apple.com/apple-cash

This Samsung card is a debit card attached to a checking account.

MplsP

bsnjon said:

Samsung has actually picked a smart strategy here. They limit reliance on partners like Goldman Sachs, and not being a credit card means there are more potential users in future.

Except you need to switch your bank or at least open an entirely new account for this. The Apple Card is a credit card that anyone can use with their existing bank account. Also, I far prefer credit cards over debit cards - there’s an extra layer of protection between my money and merchants or thieves. A woman at work didn’t like credit cards and only used a debit card. It got compromised and her and her husband’s checking account was cleared of $15,000. In the mean time their mortgage payment and car payments bounced and they couldn’;t make several other payments while the bank sorted it out. The last time my discover card number got hacked, Discover locked it down, sent me a new one and I was out exactly $0

apple ][

bsnjon said:

Samsung has actually picked a smart strategy here. They limit reliance on partners like Goldman Sachs, and not being a credit card means there are more potential users in future.

That's not smart. People who can't get a credit card are not exactly a lucrative or desirable customer group.

apple ][

MplsP said:

bsnjon said:

Samsung has actually picked a smart strategy here. They limit reliance on partners like Goldman Sachs, and not being a credit card means there are more potential users in future.

Except you need to switch your bank or at least open an entirely new account for this. The Apple Card is a credit card that anyone can use with their existing bank account. Also, I far prefer credit cards over debit cards - there’s an extra layer of protection between my money and merchants or thieves. A woman at work didn’t like credit cards and only used a debit card. It got compromised and her and her husband’s checking account was cleared of $15,000. In the mean time their mortgage payment and car payments bounced and they couldn’;t make several other payments while the bank sorted it out. The last time my discover card number got hacked, Discover locked it down, sent me a new one and I was out exactly $0

Yes, debit cards are mostly for financially ignorant people and those who can't get a credit card.

A credit card offers far more protection and is also safer, as it's not tied to a bank account.

Not to mention, you actually get many benefits from a credit card, and you save money on purchases, due to cash back offers etc. And you also get a grace period before you need to pay your bill. A debit card is like using cash and you pay immediately from your account.

I'm sure that debit cards are very popular with the Android crowd.

[Deleted User]

bsnjon said:

Samsung has actually picked a smart strategy here. They limit reliance on partners like Goldman Sachs, and not being a credit card means there are more potential users in future.

They are as reliant on SoFi as Apple is on GS. The products are different but in both cases Apple and Samsung are reliant on a financial institution.

macgui

It's interesting that both Apple and Samsung cards are Master Cards and not Visa. I'm guessing Visa didn't  want to do what Apple wanted to get Apple's customers. Ordinarily I wouldn't care except Costco doesn't do MC.

Although I have credit cards in my Wallet, they're for large purchases. Besides my bank's credit card, I use its debit card daily, and the Apple Card everywhere Apple Pay is accepted. There's little reconciliation needed. I carry a small about of cash in my other wallet and the same money is been in it for months. My bank gives it the same protections they afford their credit card. That works for me.

elijahg

Samsung Sofa? Seems a bit pointless to me.

chasm

bsnjon said:

Samsung has actually picked a smart strategy here. They limit reliance on partners like Goldman Sachs, and not being a credit card means there are more potential users in future.

How is SoFi (about which I know nothing) any different? They're a partner. The difference is they're some kind of online bank, so they'll do nothing for your credit rating.

Also, while I'm sure things might be different over time, at the moment the only "reward" for this is -- possibly discounts on more Samsung stuff. Which is why its limited to Samsung customers -- nobody else finds that very enticing.

I'm pleased to see them copying, er sorry <i>adopting</i> the security features of the Apple Card. Hopefully the entire industry will follow suit. I suppose it can be said that this is another way to get customers to sign up for online banking, and perhaps that's a good thing, but I'd really want to know where SoFi is based and their business record if I was a Samsung customer thinking about going for this.

anantksundaram

igorsky said:

bsnjon said:

Samsung has actually picked a smart strategy here. They limit reliance on partners like Goldman Sachs, and not being a credit card means there are more potential users in future.

Fascinating that you view Apple's partnership with the premier investment bank in the world as some sort of weakness.

There’s no accounting for moronicity. 

Steve’sWorld

apple ][ said:

MplsP said:

bsnjon said:

Samsung has actually picked a smart strategy here. They limit reliance on partners like Goldman Sachs, and not being a credit card means there are more potential users in future.

Except you need to switch your bank or at least open an entirely new account for this. The Apple Card is a credit card that anyone can use with their existing bank account. Also, I far prefer credit cards over debit cards - there’s an extra layer of protection between my money and merchants or thieves. A woman at work didn’t like credit cards and only used a debit card. It got compromised and her and her husband’s checking account was cleared of $15,000. In the mean time their mortgage payment and car payments bounced and they couldn’;t make several other payments while the bank sorted it out. The last time my discover card number got hacked, Discover locked it down, sent me a new one and I was out exactly $0

Yes, debit cards are mostly for financially ignorant people and those who can't get a credit card.

A credit card offers far more protection and is also safer, as it's not tied to a bank account.

Not to mention, you actually get many benefits from a credit card, and you save money on purchases, due to cash back offers etc. And you also get a grace period before you need to pay your bill. A debit card is like using cash and you pay immediately from your account.

I'm sure that debit cards are very popular with the Android crowd.

I have an iPhone, iPad Pro, MacBook Air, Apple Card, a credit card from almost every major bank in the U.S. and I will 99% of the time reach for cash or my main bank’s debit card. Why? It’s a personal choice.

entropys

anantksundaram said:

igorsky said:

bsnjon said:

Samsung has actually picked a smart strategy here. They limit reliance on partners like Goldman Sachs, and not being a credit card means there are more potential users in future.

Fascinating that you view Apple's partnership with the premier investment bank in the world as some sort of weakness.

There’s no accounting for moronicity. 

Quite so.