Samsung may extend Samsung Pay to lower-end phones in India

By Kate Fitzgerald March 10, 2017, 1:56 p.m. EST 1 Min Read

Samsung may be working to expand the reach of Samsung Pay by enabling some of its lower-end handsets sold in India to support its mobile wallet, according to media reports.

Currently Samsung Pay is available only for the South Korea-based electronics company’s newer, full-featured handsets including its Galaxy line, which account for only about 40% of Samsung’s 800 million handsets used worldwide.

Samsung Pay app — An employee demonstrates Samsung Electronics Co.'s Samsung Pay application on a Galaxy Note 7 smartphone with stylus during a media event in Seoul, South Korea, on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. Samsung's large-screen Galaxy Note 7 smartphone can be unlocked with an iris-scanning camera. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

But Samsung is exploring possibilities for enabling its lower-cost “J model” handsets sold in India to support the mobile wallet, which could greatly expand its reach there, reports Mashable. The move would also allow Samsung to reach a broader market in India, particularly rural areas where the latest smartphone models have not taken off.

An advantage Samsung Pay has had over rival mobile wallets since its 2015 launch is its near-universal reach to all payment terminals, even those not enabled for Near Field Communication. Samsung’s Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) continues to provide an edge over Apple Pay and Android Pay, which each require NFC, in many markets with a low penetration of NFC-enabled terminals.

Mobile wallets are seeing strong growth in recent months since India’s move to demonetize certain bills.

Kate Fitzgerald

Senior Editor, Payments

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.

Mobile payments

Emerging markets

MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER

100 Days of Trump Administration

How tariff uncertainty is taking a toll on banks

The potential for a global trade war has largely undone the optimism that the industry exhibited at the beginning of the year. Here's a look at three ways that tariffs could negatively impact banks.

By Allissa Kline

46m ago
Fintech

LendingClub's profits get hit by 'macroeconomic uncertainty'

The online consumer lender beat revenue expectations in the first quarter, but its net income was dragged down by larger provisions that the company attributed to tariff "uncertainty."

By Nathan Place

11h ago
Payments

Visa: Spending 'resilient' despite travel slump

The card processor came up short on expected profits but hit analysts' estimates on revenue in the second quarter of its fiscal 2025. CEO Ryan McInerney said growth in payments volume, cross-border volume and processed transactions were strong even in the face of shaky economic conditions.

By Joey Pizzolato

11h ago
Risk management

GOP lawmakers mull eliminating 'management' from CAMELS

At a House subcommittee hearing, Republicans proposed "tailoring" regulations for community banks while Democrats railed against Trump's tariffs and cuts to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

By Kate Berry

April 29
Cyber security

How Capital One is eliminating passwords for its employees

The bank's chief technology risk officer details the journey the bank has taken over the last six years, and why it set out to get rid of passwords.

By Carter Pape

April 29
NCUA

Warren, Waters say NCUA lacks quorum to govern

Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and House Financial Services Committee ranking member Maxine Waters, D-Calif., urged the National Credit Union Administration's Inspector general to look into President Trump's removal of two board members.

By Ebrima Santos Sanneh

April 29