It looks like Samsung Pay is off to a great start! Just a week after Verizon offered support for the service, Samsung Electronics Co. has seen repeat usage among its users. As noted by the South Korean manufacturer, Samsung Pay is being used at an average of eight transactions per user. In its home country, the service has already reached a total of one million users. For those still unaware, Samsung Pay is a service offered by Samsung to its device users where they can make payments at retail locations with the use of their smartphone and offers a genuine alternative to the likes of Apple’s Apple Pay and Google’s Android Pay. The service was originally launched back in September and is currently only available in a select number of Samsung Galaxy models.
One of the biggest reasons why Samsung Pay is greatly enjoyed by its users, is because they can use it to make payments almost anywhere a card can be swiped or tapped. Compared with Apple Pay, Samsung Pay does not require its retailers to install new equipment supportive of near field communication (NFC) in order to use the service. With Samsung Pay, users can simply put their device on or near the magnetic stripe card reader which is already available at partner retailers including Visa and MasterCard.
Because of how quickly the service seems to have been adopted, Samsung has already confirmed that they will be expanding support for Samsung Pay. With this announcement, they have signed up with 14 new banks such as Chase, PNC Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, TD Bank, Fifth Third Bank, SunTrust, Key Bank, Virginia Credit Union, Security Service Federal Credit Union, People’s United Bank, Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union, Associated Bank, Navy Federal Credit Union, and First Hawaiian. Samsung has also announced that it will start supporting payments under these establishments in the coming months. In addition to providing support for these banks, Samsung is working with Blackhawk Network to enable users to add gift cards to their smartphones. Once this becomes operational, users will be able to use gift cards for establishments such as Amazon, the Home Depot, Macy’s, and even Apple. Hopefully, Samsung will be able to make this service available just in time for the holidays.