Samsung To Go Into Mobile Payments and Compete with Apple Pay

Samsung is reportedly developing a wireless mobile payment system that will be launched in 2015 to compete with Apple Pay. Such form of technology will enable individuals with specific Samsung phones to make their payments for selected stores by using their devices instead of cash or credit card.

The new smartphone from Samsung will reportedly be introduced in the first six months of 2015. It remains uncertain, however, if the Korean tech giant has closed its deal with the payments startup LoopPay.

While it has been claimed that the deal may not push through, another insider has stated that a prototype of such payment system that is compatible with an unnamed Samsung phone has been developed.

Meanwhile, there have been no official details released from both Samsung and LoopPay. The collaborative efforts between Samsung and LoopPay are centered on the concept of sending payments for commodities in stores through a mobile device, similar to that of Apple Pay.

Last September, Apple introduced its payment system that enables users of the latest iPhones to purchase goods in selected stores by positioning their device near the checkout equipment.

By using Apple Pay, customers can finalize their purchases by means of a verification process in which they are required to press their finger on the fingerprint identification sensor that was incorporated into the iPhone’s Home button.

Similarly, Samsung has also integrated such form of technology on its newest Galaxy phone, which can be added into the payment system that it is reportedly developing. Interestingly, this identification technology can be operated together with the PayPal app that allows individuals to pay using their device at selected stores that accept PayPal.

With LoopPay’s technology that is capable of imitating a swipe card, the new payment system for Samsung may be operational in more stores and other establishments as compared to the Apple Pay and Google Wallet, which are restricted to locations that have near field communication (NFC).

Nonetheless, the use of NFC is being deemed as highly relevant for LoopPay as numerous stores have begun to update their equipment and incorporate such technology that accepts magnetic stripe cards that are placed in a card reader but not swiped.

The process of swiping is likely to become obsolete owing to the fact that card issuers and users alike have started to show preference for chip-embedded cards, which are less vulnerable to cloning and other fraudulent acts.