Here’s a Hands-on Video showing how Samsung Pay works with both Magnetic Stripe Reader and NFC

Samsung had announced its mobile payment service Samsung Pay at the MWC 2015 when it unveiled its new flagship Galaxy S6 along with Galaxy S6 edge. However, even after over four months the much awaited Samsung Pay is still nowhere in sight.

Early this month we heard the news that Samsung Pay was in the final phase of testing and Samsung was testing out its mobile payment service in its home market with eight domestic card companies to remove all the kinks before rolling it out in the market. The report also said that the South Korean company was planning to launch this service in September, initially across the US and South Korea followed later in more countries.

The delay could be detrimental for Samsung Pay as Apple Pay is already expanding into Europe and Google Wallet is also going to be refreshed as Android Pay later in the year. Both Apple Pay and Google Wallet use the Near Field Communication (NFC) system which needs an NFC payment terminal at the retail outlet. Samsung Pay has an added advantage as along with NFC, it will also work at the traditional magnetic stripe card readers which are already available at most of the stores.

Now, when consumers are still wondering how Samsung Pay will actually work, Times of India has posted a video giving a hands-on demo of how the payment via Samsung Pay is made. As it turns out, making payment from your Samsung Galaxy phone is downright easy as you can see in the video below.

Once you have stored your credit/debit card/s in your phone, you just have to swipe the home button which will show you your stored cards. Select the one you want to pay with, touch the fingerprint scanner incorporated inside the home button to authenticate it and then put the phone near the NFC or magnetic stripe card reader. Viola, the payment will be made!

Samsung had bought the mobile payment startup LoopPay in February this year for $250 million from where it got the Magnetic stripe card technology. Rumors suggest that Samsung is planning to hold a big event to unveil its new Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ and there’s a chance that the company will launch Samsung Pay then.

Here’s a Hands-on Video showing how Samsung Pay works with both Magnetic Stripe Reader and NFC

Google believes Samsung’s new phones can support two mobile payment systems

Samsung has been one of Google’s key Android partners but it did go ahead and develop its indigenous operating system Tizen. Google was reportedly irked when Samsung decided to use Tizen OS for its smartwatches. Now there may be discontent brewing between the two tech giants again as Samsung has purchased the mobile wallet company LoopPay. Samsung is expected to incorporate LoopPay’s mobile payment system in its new flagship Galaxy S6 that is likely to be unveiled on March 1 at the MWC 2015 in Barcelona.

Google has been making several improvements in its Google Wallet to make it popular but it is not yet picking up speed among Android users. Acquisition of LoopPay by Samsung has dashed Google’s hopes for a single mobile payment system for the Android platform. David Eun, Samsung’s head of Global Innovation Center said that although Google is “a super-important strategic partner” Samsung has to remain committed to its customers by “creating the different experiences and devices that they want.”

Google Wallet and LoopPay both work differently. Google Wallet and Apple Pay both use NFC based payment systems which need special terminals. On the other hand, LoopPay uses a magnetic stripe on its card to store information. Users can keep this card inside the phone case and payment can be made by just taping the phone at the terminal. About 90% of payment terminals already support LoopPay while there are very few stores outfitted with NFC terminals.

Well, if efforts of both Google and Samsung succeed, Samsung’s new smartphone could end up offering both the payment services, which could then be quite confusing to some of the users according to Tim Sloane, a payments analyst at Mercator Advisory Group. A source familiar with Google’s way of thinking says that the company may be ok with this double payment system. According to him, Google believes that multiple payments apps can co-exist in one phone.

 

Source WSJ

Google believes Samsung’s new phones can support two mobile payment systems

Samsung buys mobile payment startup LoopPay, upcoming Galaxy S6 to support this service

Last December there were reports that Samsung was planning to launch its own mobile payment service and was in talks with LoopPay, a Burlington, MA-based startup. The LoopPay mobile payment system was also tried out successfully on a Samsung phone. Now the Korean giant has announced that it has acquired LoopPay, signaling its intention to take on Apple Pay that was launched in September last year.

Unlike Apple Pay and other mobile payment services that use NFC connectivity, LoopPay uses ‘Magnetic Secure Transmission Technology’ in which information that is stored on the magnetic stripe of a debit or credit card is transmitted wirelessly to the checkout terminal of the store.  This Technology converts the magnetic stripe card reader of the store into a receiver. The LoopPay card can be stored inside the smartphone case and the user just has to tap his/her phone to the terminal to make the payment.

Samsung’s acquisition of LoopPay poses a great competition to Apple because about 90% retailers in the US have magnetic stripe readers at checkout counters that support LoopPay. In comparison, there are only a few locations that support Apple Pay because retailers need to upgrade their system for it. LoopPay on the other hand uses technology that already exists in the stores. It is worth noting that LoopPay’s system is already supported by over 10 million retail outlets  while Apple Pay is available at only about 220,000 retail outlets as yet.

According to David Eun, head of Samsung’s Global Innovation Center, “If you can’t solve the problem of merchant acceptance…, of being able to use the vast majority of your cards, then it can’t really be your wallet.“

Injong Rhee, in charge of the mobile payments project for Samsung, revealed that Samsung Galaxy S6 will support the service.  He also said that Samsung doesn’t want to limit itself by “merely turning the smartphone into a wallet” but go beyond that and offer other money transactions and payment-related services such as providing information about spending etc. to the users. LoopPay’s technology fits nicely with Samsung’s strategy.

 

Source Reuters

Samsung buys mobile payment startup LoopPay, upcoming Galaxy S6 to support this service

Samsung planning to launch Apple Pay competitor in 2015

A report suggests that Samsung is planning to come out with its own contactless mobile payments system next year. Samsung is reportedly in talks with LoopPay, a payment startup based in Burlington, MA.

A source has informed re/code that a prototype of the wireless payments system running successfully on a Samsung phone has been developed. Will Graylin, CEO of LoopPay has revealed that in 2015, his company’s payments system technology will be embedded inside a smartphone made by a major manufacturer having “massive penetration”. He however declined to disclose the name of the manufacturer or to even to confirm if it was Samsung when asked about it.

By introducing the LoopPay payments system technology in their smartphones, Samsung is posing direct competition to Apple Pay since Apple is offering such kind of mobile payment system on its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones and on the Apple Watch too. A user selects the credit card through which he wants to make payment for his purchases and the payment information is transmitted through NFC (Near Field Communication) just by holding the phone near the terminal. User’s identity is verified through Touch ID fingerprint sensor.

Currently, LoopPay does not use the NFC system but uses a “magnetic secure transmission” technology which transmits information stored on the magnetic stripe of the credit or debit card wirelessly to the store’s checkout terminal. This technology is embedded in a fob or a digital payment card. Users have to tap this device near the spot on the terminal where the credit card is swiped.

LoopPay is available at many more locations compared to Apple Pay. According to LoopPay, Apple Pay is available in 220,000 retail locations in the US while its own system is available in over 10 million retail locations. Now since more and more retail stores are updating their checkout terminal that also includes NFC, LoopPay is planning to use this technology in its payments system.

Will Graylin revealed that after the partnership with the smartphone major, NFC technology would also be used to transmit payment information to the seller, apart from LoopPay’s existing “magnetic secure transmission” technology. This way, the users will not be required to open an app to make the payment.

Samsung planning to launch Apple Pay competitor in 2015