In an interview with The Korean Herald, Samsung’s mobile chief JK Shin mentioned that the company’s own payment app, Samsung Pay, will be available for its lower-end devices in the near future. The app is set to debut on the 28 of September in the U.S. As of now, some reports are saying that there are more than 500,0000 users who have registered for the app throughout the entire country. Samsung also reports that there are approximately 25,000 users who are signing up for the app daily in South Korea. It will be only available to the users of the Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6 Edge for now.
This app works with NFC (near -field communication) wireless payment. This method of payment involves putting two devices (in this case, a smartphone and a scanner near each other) and they will need to be just a few centimeters apart from each other in order to exchange data. In order for this to work, both of the devices must be equipped with an NFC chip. This app also greatly relies on magnetic secure transmissions technology (MST). This technology will enable older models of smartphones to pay wirelessly. This also means that the app would work with most of the magnetic strip scanners that can be commonly be found in many places such as malls, convenience stores and your favorite coffee shop or diner.
To use this app, you will need to launch the app by swiping your finger upwards and you can do it in your home screen, lock screen or even when your device is in sleep mode. When you do that, you will have to put your device near the register and enter a personal PIN number or use your fingerprint when you are making a purchase. There is a function in the app in which you can check your payment history by tapping on your particular card of choice. The app is similar to Apple Pay and Android Pay. It remains to be seen whether it can strongly compete with its rivals. If this strategy of letting its lower-end models use this feature succeeds in gaining more users, it will gain a very strong foothold in the competition.