Apple Pay competitor Samsung Pay launching in the US on Sept. 28
At its Unpacked press event on Thursday, Samsung announced that Samsung Pay -- its answer to mobile payment systems like Apple Pay -- will launch in the U.S. on Sept. 28.
Initially, Samsung Pay will be available only to owners of the new Galaxy S6 Edge+ and Note 5. A forthcoming software update will enable it on the S6 and S6 Edge, and Samsung will begin trailing the service for some U.S. users on August 25.
Unlike Apple Pay and Android Pay, Samsung Pay supports not just NFC for retail transactions but also a separate wireless technology -- acquired via the takeover of LoopPay -- that can mimic a card swipe. That should give Samsung Pay a leg up when it comes to merchant acceptance, as merchants will not be forced to upgrade their payment terminals to work with NFC in order to accept Samsung Pay.
To use Samsung Pay, users choose the card they want to use, authenticate with a fingerprint scan, then tap their device on the appropriate spot on a terminal. Samsung is relying on tokenized transactions to prevent stolen data and fraud.
Early U.S. partners lined up for the service include credit card companies American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa, as well as banks like Chase, Bank of America, and U.S. Bank.
Apple Pay has been available in the U.S. since October 2014, and counts more than 425 participating financial institutions. Merchant support has expanded much more slowly however, in large part because stores have been slow to replace older payment terminals.
Initially, Samsung Pay will be available only to owners of the new Galaxy S6 Edge+ and Note 5. A forthcoming software update will enable it on the S6 and S6 Edge, and Samsung will begin trailing the service for some U.S. users on August 25.
Unlike Apple Pay and Android Pay, Samsung Pay supports not just NFC for retail transactions but also a separate wireless technology -- acquired via the takeover of LoopPay -- that can mimic a card swipe. That should give Samsung Pay a leg up when it comes to merchant acceptance, as merchants will not be forced to upgrade their payment terminals to work with NFC in order to accept Samsung Pay.
To use Samsung Pay, users choose the card they want to use, authenticate with a fingerprint scan, then tap their device on the appropriate spot on a terminal. Samsung is relying on tokenized transactions to prevent stolen data and fraud.
Early U.S. partners lined up for the service include credit card companies American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa, as well as banks like Chase, Bank of America, and U.S. Bank.
Apple Pay has been available in the U.S. since October 2014, and counts more than 425 participating financial institutions. Merchant support has expanded much more slowly however, in large part because stores have been slow to replace older payment terminals.
Comments
It's not even worth complaining about how little shame they have about blatant copying.
What exactly is the copying that has taken place?
I'm having a riduculus hard time figuring this out too. But then again i'm not too brite.
How does LoopPay work if there's no NFC needed in ther terminal?
Maybe I'm wrong, but didn't Apple patent a whole bunch of IP regarding the tokenized transactions?
Does it properly mimic a swipe after chip and pin takes effect?
No. If you add a chip/PIN card to Samsung Pay, and try to use MST (the mag stripe system), the terminal will decline and tell you to insert your card.
However, if your chip/PIN card is from a bank that's been updated (like banks have to update their system for Apple Pay), then you can use MST to make the payment and it will work.
The real problem I see is how does Samsung explain this to people? Why can some people add cards and they work and others add cards and they don't? Apple decided to simply ONLY allow cards from banks that have updated to the newest EMVco standard and not bother to support older systems. Samsung, by trying to be compatible with everything, is going to piss off users when they see the fragmentation between cards and issuers.
I had forgotten about LoopPay, and wouldn't have noted any advantage to it anyway until AI mentioned it. Sounds like something Apple might figure a way of designing in themselves as on the surface (Not MS
There will be no advantage to LoopPay. By the time it really gets going on Samsung phones, all of the merchants will have upgraded their terminals (as mandated by the CC companies) anyway, and these will all accept ApplePay, AndroidPay, or Samsung Pay (via NFC) as well. Plus it is cumbersome to use and brought with all of the same security issues that traditional CCs come with.
But but but
SamsungApple needs competition!It's not even worth complaining about how little shame they have about blatant copying.
I'm a long time Apple products user. All my devices are Apple. First computer was a IICi ... How exactly is this copying? You are claiming a NFC based electronic payment system using tokens is something Apple invented? You are nuts. The more the merrier. If it is not tied to the Samsung/Android platform I will consider using it along with Apple Pay if the features, acceptability and security are on a par with Apple Pay. I do what is best for me. I don't cut my nose off to spite my face or turn away from what may be a good product just because of who's name may be on the outside.
They won't all be updated as there's no legal requirement to do so AFAIK. Mom and Pop's Corner Store will probably keep using their old swipe machine just as they have for years.
Too bad for Samsung, banks/issuers won't all be updating their back end systems to allow chip/PIN cards to work using MST. So Samsung/LoopPays promise of working with all terminals won't ever be fully realized.
Let's see if we can get them to come out and play