HSBC is adding Samsung Pay support in the U.S., given the bank's customers access to all three of the major device operator-driven mobile payment systems.
"This is another step along our innovative digital journey letting our customers bank when, where and how they want with us," said Pablo Sanchez, Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management for HSBC Bank USA and Canada, in an emailed statement provided to American Banker, a sister publication to PaymentsSource. HSBC launched Samsung Pay on July 20.
The email also said the adoption of Samsung Pay follows the bank's launch of Touch ID in May. Touch ID is Apple's fingerprint biometric authentication system, and has become a major security tool for mobile banking and person-to-person payment apps, including Square Cash and PayPal's Venmo. Fingerprint authentication is also a component of Samsung Pay, which operates on Samsung-built Android handsets.
Banks have struggled with how to adopt and brand contactless mobile payments, and HSBC is one of the few U.S. banks to support all three major third-party wallets: Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Android Pay.
Apple Pay launched with the support of hundreds of banks, but has struggled to catch on with consumers. Samsung, by contrast, has wonissuers more slowly than Apple, but uses acquiredtechnology from LoopPay to make sure consumers can use its wallet at almost any merchant terminal by simulating the signal of a magstripe card swipe.
Banks are also considering developing their own branded mobile payment systems. Chase, for example, is planning a wallet called Chase Pay built on its ChaseNet platform. Capital One, Wells Fargo and and RBC are also planning their own wallets, though Bank of America has said it does not have plans to do so.
