Wallets – that is all we hear any more…Google Wallet, ISIS Wallet, Apple’s Passport, PayPal, and today we get an update on Samsung’s Wallet. Electronic payments are the future, there is no denying that…the problem is, there are so many wallets out there and so many ways to accomplish the transactions; and then there is the security issue, and then these “Wallets” must be accepted by the merchant…in other words, a lot of linguistics must go into making this a viable sort of payment option. We know that Google is determined to make their wallet a player in this area as they have been shuffling around employees to make sure enough employees are available in its payment business area to cover Wallet. We also learned that the, almost announced Nexus 5, maybe the first device that will sport a Google Wallet that can be used on any phone, not only phones with a secure NFC chip.
Samsung is also working to ensure that their Wallet is a viable product by continuing to sign up new partners, fourteen more, infact, that will accept their Wallet for transactions. Joining the likes of Walgreens, Expedia, Lufthansa, and Hotels.com are new partners like American Express, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Amtrak, Valpak, eGifter, SpotOn, and several others. Samsung’s app works a lot like Apple’s Passport, allowing users many storage options for tickets, coupons, boarding passes, membership cards, etc., and it will sync your data across all of your devices.
Currently it supports the Samsung Galaxy S3, S4, and Galaxy Note 1, 2, & 3 and, according to Google Play, Samsung Wallet is:
- Optimized for HD and Full-HD Samsung devices
- Store and manage tickets, coupons, mobile boarding passes and membership cards in one convenient place
- Customizable time and location-based reminders
- Synchronize data across multiple devices using Samsung account
- Discover grocery coupons and digitally save them to loyalty card of participating groceries
Samsung is clearly trying to make its Wallet a one-stop shopping experience where all of your “wallet needs” can be handled using their app. I am interested in these Wallet apps, but I do not want to use more than one – Verizon is really pushing the ISIS app, and Google is pushing their Wallet, and Samsung will be another big player in the Wallet field – but for now I am staying “Wallet-free” until the dust settles. Let us know in the comments or on Google+ if you use a wallet app and how you like it.