Samsung has launched its mobile payment service, Samsung Pay in the kingdom of Thailand today. According to the South Korean company, this move is in line with Thailand’s goal to transition into a cashless society. Vice President of IT and Mobile Communications at Thai Samsung Electronics, Wichai Pornpratang said at the launch that Samsung Pay has partnered with many financial institutions including MasterCard, Visa, KCC, Bangkok Bank, Citibank, Kasikorn Bank, KTC and Siam Commercial Bank. To make it easier for Thai users to purchase items during their daily routines via the cashless payment method, Samsung Pay is also supported by department stores and shops across the country.
Wichai Pornpratang went on to state that Samsung Pay allows users to add a wide variety of cards other than credit cards to Samsung Pay. This includes the Galaxy Gift Prepaid Card by MasterCard and a wide variety of membership cards, giving users a truly cashless solution. An early access release of the mobile payment solution was made available to select few users in the country back in October of 2016, and according to Samsung, it received positive feedback during the period. Samsung has been expanding its mobile payment solution in Asia recently, with the latest addition being Thailand, bringing the total number of countries with the mobile payment service to 10. Just recently, Samsung Pay was launched in neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and China. The service is expected to the hit the Indian market by the middle of the year.
While Samsung Pay is one of the best mobile payment solutions out there, it is only supported by a limited number of Samsung devices. This includes the Galaxy S7 family, Galaxy S6 family, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A7. However, this might change if Samsung Pay Mini makes it to Thailand, as the app can run on any Android device running on Android 5.0 Lollipop and above. Devices will also have to come equipped with a HD display or better. Samsung Pay Mini supports most Samsung Pay features, including online payment and more. One feature which is available on Samsung Pay and not on Samsung Pay Mini, is the offline payment option.