Dive Brief:
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Samsung Pay and Synchrony Financial announced Thursday that Synchrony-issued private-label credit cards will be accessible through the Samsung Pay mobile payment system when Samsung Pay launches next month.
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Samsung Pay uses Magnetic Secure Transmission, which accesses traditional magnetic-swipe point-of-sales systems, as well as Near Field Communications systems, as do Apple Pay and Google Wallet.
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Samsung Pay’s tap-to-pay method will be preloaded on the Galaxy S6 Edge+ and Galaxy Note5 phones through most major carriers.
Dive Insight:
Samsung made a bet on the magnetic POS technology from LoopPay when LoopPay was still in its Kickstarter phase, and announced in February that it would acquire the mobile wallet outright.
The move was based on the recognition that mobile payments require consumers to significantly change their payment habits; LoopPay (actually, now, Samsung Pay) works with legacy POS systems—lending added security and benefits like loyalty perks at the same time.
There’s no guarantee that Samsung Pay will really have any advantage in mobile payments. But its entry into the space brings another option for consumers at a time when EMV cards are coming online and when worries about using credit cards have increased.
“The first time the owner is the most resistant,” Samsung Pay co-general manager Thomas Ko said at a press event, as reported by Re/Code. “The second time, no problem. The customer trying is the biggest education.”
Certainly, Samsung Pay is coming online at a time when mobile use and mobile payments are poised to gain more traction. That’s more than CurrentC can say, but it's hard to know at this point what will catch on.
