This year has been a year of many things, and in the technology sector, it might be known as the year of mobile payments. Apple Pay has been around for some time now, and Android Pay has launched in more countries and added countless more card issuers and banks to the ever-growing list of those that are supported. For Samsung, however, progress has been somewhat slower, with some key markets still not allowed access to the payment platform. One of those key markets has been the United Kingdom, a market in which Samsung promised the service would launch before 2016 was over, and now that the year is coming to a close, this no longer seems feasible, and a new report is all but confirming the delay of Samsung Pay’s launch across the pond into 2017.
UK newspaper, The Telegraph, is running an article on Samsung Pay that quotes a spokesperson for the company as saying that “following successful launches of Samsung Pay around the world, we are planning to launch the service in the UK in 2017.” This year saw the service launch in parts of Asia, such as China and Singapore, as well as in Australia, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Russia, Spain and most recently, Canada. Our friends across the pond, however, will now have to wait until 2017, and considering that the launch of the Galaxy S8 is to be held towards the end of February, they might have to wait until the Spring to see the service launch.
When Samsung Pay first launched, it was thought of as little more than a “me too” service to compete with Apple Pay and Android Pay, but with its Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) feature, allowing it to simulate the swipe of a card at older pay stations, it offered consumers extra value. It has, however, taken a long time to reach other regions after launching in South Korea and the United States last year. Exactly when the service is to launch in the UK is unclear, but as the UK has transitioned to mostly contactless payments – which work fine with Android Pay as well as credit cards with the right chip – the market has been ready for Samsung Pay for some time, and kit’s clear that Samsung will be late to the party whenever it does finally launch there.