Mobile payments have taken off over the past 12 months in a big way, and while Apple Pay might be the service most widely-available right now, Samsung is looking to change all of that with Samsung Pay. The service has of course launched in the firm’s home country of South Korea as well as North America, but now it’s finally hitting Europe, starting with Spain. We had thought that, due to Spain being the host nation of Mobile World Congress held every February, that Spain would be first in line and while it has taken a little longer than we’d have first imagined, the service is now officially available in the region.
Corporate Vice President of Samsung Spain, Celestino García, commented that Samsung is “proud that Spain is the first European market to introduce Samsung Pay” and while everything needs to start off small like this, the service is undoubtedly going to grow over time. For our Spanish readers wondering if they can use the new service, Samsung’s official announcement details support from both CaixaBank as well as imaginBank right away, with Abanca and Banco Sabadell banks joining later this year. For those that don’t bank with any of those names, they can get a card issued by El Corte Inglés to use Samsung Pay wherever it’s accepted. The Samsung post linked below lists many places that Samsung Pay will be available at, and right now that list includes Cepsa stations, The Good Burger and a wide range of smaller stores as well supermarkets.
Samsung Pay can support up to 10 different cards and users with a Galaxy S6 or later smartphone – including this year’s Galaxy S7 line – will be able to use their phone to checkout wherever it’s supported. Nathalie Oestmann, Director of Samsung Pay Europe praised Spain’s “progressive approach to digital payments” and its likely that the Spanish market will be viewed as a sort of testing ground for Samsung Pay in Europe. With Apple Pay already available in the UK, and now Android Pay there’s another big market in Europe that Samsung will no doubt be eyeing up next, and we’re sure many of readers will be looking forward to when Samsung Pay crosses the Atlantic.