Samsung is offering customers Best Buy gift card worth $50 for signing up to Samsung Pay, as a part of a promotional campaign by the company. (Photo : Reuters)
South Korean tech giant Samsung recently announced that it is expanding its flagship mobile payment service, Samsung Pay, in the United States in the coming year. Samsung Pay, just like other mobile payment services, allows users to shop online and use their smartphone as an electronic wallet instead of a physical credit or debit card.
Samsung also announced that it is broadening the support of Samsung Pay which will include new smartphone models. As of this writing, the mobile payment service only supports high-end Samsung smartphones like the Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge Plus.
According to Reuters, Samsung Pay global co-general manager Thomas Ko confirmed that the service will support lower-tiered smartphone models and will cover these devices "within the next year."
Ko added that "handset availability of Samsung Pay as well as online payment support is coming soon." Samsung has yet to confirm which other countries, aside from U.S., Samsung Pay will expand to.
In the US market, Samsung Pay scores a major lead over its rivals Android Pay and Apple Pay. Samsung's mobile payment system was launched in the U.S. on Sept. 28. The payment system's major appeal is that it does not require new equipment in order to be used, unlike Apple Pay and Android Pay.
By entering the online payment market, Samsung Pay will be competing with well-established brand like PayPal as well as newcomers like Visa Checkout. According to ZDNet, by supporting online retailers and lower-tiered smartphones, Samsung Pay is expanding its business into a larger market.
