Samsung trails new mobile payments platform
South Korean electronics giant Samsung has begun rolling out a trial version of its mobile payments platform as it seeks to tackle the challenge posed by Apple Pay and Android Pay head-on.
Imaginatively titled Samsung Pay the new system is being made available to selected Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge owners in South Korea ahead of an international roll-out, potentially beginning around September.
In a blog post Samsung wrote: “When it is time to pay, just launch the app, hold your Samsung device near the credit card terminal and authorize it with the touch of your finger.”
Utilising Near Field Communications (NFC) in similar fashion to its competitors the system is differentiated somewhat by supporting magnetic secure transmission (MST), similar to the strip used on credit cards.
This could give Samsung a market edge as whilst NFC is still in its infancy and not widely available MST is accepted at any terminal capable of accepting credit cards.
Samsung;s play follows the introduction of Apple Pay in the UK this week, the first market outside the US to receive the service.