Samsung Pay to launch in Singapore in Q2 this year

Samsung Pay
PRIORITY MARKET: Samsung is preparing to roll out Samsung Pay in Singapore

Samsung Pay will launch in Singapore in the second quarter of this year, the company has announced, adding it to South Korea, the US and China on the list of Samsung’s “priority markets”. The service will launch with support from American Express, MasterCard and Visa and banks including DBS Bank Singapore, POSB Bank Singapore, OCBC Bank and Standard Chartered.

“The service will cater to a positive demand in Singapore where 71% of Samsung users have indicated interest in using Samsung Pay once it becomes available,” Samsung says. “Samsung is currently expanding its network of partnerships and providing training for cashiers at partnering retailers and merchants in preparation for the roll out of Samsung Pay in Singapore.

“Samsung will also be engaging consumers to participate in a beta usage trial to test the service ahead of the launch in Q2 2016.”

The mobile payment service will be available on the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 4G+, Galaxy S6 Edge+ 4G+, Galaxy S7 4G+ and S7 Edge 4G+ following its launch in the country.

Retail rollout

“Consumers will soon be able to utilise Samsung Pay at the following merchant categories — supermarkets and convenience stores, departmental stores, healthcare and beauty outlets, food and beverage outlets, fashion and lifestyle outlets [and] electronics and furnishing stores,” Samsung adds.

“We are extremely excited that Singapore is the first market in Southeast Asia to roll out Samsung Pay,” says Samsung’s Injong Rhee.

“Samsung Pay is an example of how Samsung is always striving to introduce new technologies that help to enhance and improve the quality of lives of consumers, especially as Singapore moves towards becoming a smart nation.”

“Samsung Pay’s interface is simple, swift and safe to use and, coupled with OCBC’s wide network of commercial partners which includes major supermarkets, departmental stores and dining outlets, 1.5 million of our card customers can soon choose to adopt mobile payments and rely less on cash,” adds Desmond Tan, head of group lifestyle financing at OCBC Bank.

Samsung Pay was launched in Korea in August 2015 and in the US in September 2015. It’s launch in China in partnership with China UnionPay was announced in December. Plans for a global expansion of the service were announced at Mobile World Congress in February this year.

Apple Pay announced its launch in Singapore earlier this week with support from American Express and support from Visa “coming soon”.

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