Samsung Pay to Expand to More Phones: Report

Samsung plans to expand its Samsung Pay service to more phones in 2016, including its lower-priced models.

The South Korean company also expects to begin supporting online payments in the U.S. within the next year, global co-general manager of Samsung Pay Thomas Ko told Reuters in an interview. Samsung also will expand to additional countries, though Ko would provide specifics.

The service, which launched in South Korea before expanding to the U.S. in September, initially supported only Samsung's high-end mobile device models, such as the Galaxy Note 5 and the Galaxy S6 Edge. Though limited in this manner, Samsung Pay can be used at more stores than Apple Pay or Android Pay because it does not rely on Near Field Communication hardware to make contactless payments. Samsung Pay can send a wireless signal that simulates the swipe of a magstripe card, enabling it to work with most non-NFC point of sale hardware.

Reuters noted that Samsung's service averaged eight transactions per U.S. user during the first four weeks following its stateside launch.