Samsung Pay now available for Commonwealth Bank customers — Commonwealth Bank of Australia — “Commonwealth Bank customers will now have access to Samsung’s contactless payments platform, Samsung Pay… Today’s announcement follows CBA’s partnership with Google in November to offer Android Pay on compatible devices at almost 800,000 stores across Australia. CBA customers have also been able to make payments on the go with Fitbit and Garmin’s new payment-enabled smartwatches.”
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Samsung partners with Grab for mobile payments in south-east Asia
Grab and Samsung sign MOU to drive digital inclusion in south-east Asia — Samsung — “Grab and Samsung will work together on a wide range of initiatives to bring the benefits of technology, such as enhanced customer experiences and improved income opportunities, to millions of consumers and Grab driver-partners across south-east Asia… The two companies will also work together to expand into south-east Asia’s fragmented mobile payments ecosystem and provide a mobile payments solution that will serve the needs of consumers in south-east Asia.”
Mobile payments drive 60% growth in demand for NFC phones in Russia
In Russia, booming sales of smartphones that support contactless payments — Vedomosti (translation) — “Demand for them is being driven by the emergence of payment systems from Apple, Samsung and Google. Sales of smartphones that support contactless payments using NFC technology (near field communication), in 2017 compared to 2016, grew by 60% in Russia… Over the past year in Russia, about 8.3m such devices were sold.”
Survey finds Samsung Pay influences repeat purchases of Samsung phones in Spain
Samsung Pay reaches 100m euros in transactions since its launch in Spain — Samsung Spain (translation) — “70% of respondents say that one of the reasons to buy a Samsung smartphone is to continue enjoying this service… The same study found that the use of mobile payment has increased notably in 2017, with 19% of users compared to 5% registered in 2016…. The convenience and simplicity offered by Samsung Pay are key factors for 75% of the respondents who gave the service a high satisfaction rating.”
Samsung patents blood flow biometric for smartphones and wearables
Samsung’s patent shows authenticating users by measuring their blood flow patterns — SamMobile — “The patent describes a method to identify users based on blood flow patterns in their fingers or wrists using sensors in smartphones and smartwatches… According to the patent application, it is possible to authenticate users based on their blood flow patterns as ‘the arterial conduction paths of different users are almost never identical’.”
Samsung Pay goes live in Mexico
Samsung Pay now available in Mexico — Samsung — “To bring this service to Mexico, Samsung strategically partnered with some of the country’s leading financial partners, including payment providers (American Express, MasterCard and Visa); banks (Banorte, Banregio, Citibanamex, HSBC and Santander); and banking acquirers, services and tools such as Clip and iZettle… Samsung Pay’s entry into the Mexican market marks the second Latin American country to receive the service and the 20th market worldwide.”
Samsung to include iris scanning and face recognition combo in Galaxy S9?
Galaxy S9 may feature ‘Intelligent Scan’, a combination of iris scanning and facial recognition — Android Police — “After some digging around in Samsung’s settings app, a developer and AP reader reached out to us about his discovery of something called ‘Intelligent Scan’… It sounds like Intelligent Scan will combine the sometimes-limited information the iris scanner and your front camera can each extract to piece together a fuller picture of whoever is trying to unlock the phone.”
Safaricom adds NFC payments to M-Pesa mobile money service
Christmas comes early for Safaricom’s mobile app as it receives the much awaited “big” update — Android Kenya — “Safaricom’s mobile application, dubbed mySafaricom, is receiving a huge update… Smartphones with NFC (Near Field Communication) technology should be in a position to transact using M-Pesa 1 Tap, the latest upgrade to M-Pesa that lets users pay for items at retail outlets and elsewhere via a single ‘tap’, much like Android Pay and Samsung Pay are used for in the markets where they are available.”
Samsung and LG to launch low-end smartphones that support their mobile payment services
Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics to introduce their new low-end smartphones at CES 2018 — ETNews — “Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are going to introduce their new low-end smartphones at CES 2018… Galaxy A8 series are installed with Samsung Pay and fingerprint recognition…. K series are installed with a mobile payment system called LG Pay that is applied to premium smartphones such as G and V series. This is the first time when LG Electronics’ low-end lineup is applied with LG Pay.”
Samsung Pay Rewards expands to Spain
Samsung launches Samsung Rewards, a new loyalty program of Samsung Pay — Samsung Spain (translation) — “Users who make purchases with Samsung Pay will receive Samsung Rewards points each time they make a purchase. The accumulated points will be valid for one year and can be exchanged directly for exclusive gifts.”
Australian merchants to accept payments on their mobile phones — with no additional hardware required
CBA launches hardware-less payments app for SMBs — The Australian Financial Review — “Commonwealth Bank will bring a new mobile payments technology to market in Australia that enables small businesses to accept credit card payments of up to A$100 on their Samsung devices, without any other hardware…. A pilot program is expected to kick off in early 2018, with the smartphone payments platform to be rolled out commercially by mid next year.”
Samsung integrates Hong Kong’s Octopus card into Samsung Pay
Samsung teams up with Octopus to launch exclusively the first “Smart Octopus” in Samsung Pay — Octopus Holdings — “Smart Octopus in Samsung Pay will enable NFC payment at all Octopus acceptance points, covering public transport as well as over 21,000 retail outlets, online shopping, recreational facilities, vending machines, self-service kiosks; plus the use of parking and access control facilities at residential or commercial premises.”
Samsung Pay sets its sights on becoming a full service banking wallet
Samsung Pay expanding into mobile banking service — Korea Bizwire — “Samsung Electronics Co’s mobile payment system is moving to expand into the banking sector to offer more diverse services to users… ‘The mobile payment is being developed so that it will one day fully replace a person’s purse or wallet,’ a Samsung executive said.”
Samsung looks to palm recognition to secure mobile devices
Samsung’s new phones might literally read the palm of your hand — Futurism — “Recent patent filings by the South Korean electronics giant show that the company may be investing in yet another means of biometric scanning. Samsung’s palm recognition technology would join other biometrics, such as facial recognition and fingerprint scanning, along with standard passwords, pin numbers, and patterns as a means of securing your device.”
Samsung Pay to add social sharing features?
You may soon be able to share your Samsung Pay transactions — SamMobile — “Samsung has built a feature for Samsung Pay that allows users to view a list of all their past transactions and share them to various social networks, including Facebook and Twitter, according to a patent spotted on Kipris’ database. Samsung Pay Story, which the firm describes as a ‘system for sharing buying experiences,’ is expected to be introduced in a future update for Samsung Pay, in an attempt to spread awareness of the payment platform using social media.”
Samsung Pay goes live in Mexico
Samsung Pay officially launches in Mexico — Neowin — “Samsung’s mobile payment solution, Samsung Pay, is set to make its debut today (Nov 21st) in Mexico. Customers interested in using the service have to register first; after approval, users can add their credit/debit card and start using it to pay for products using their mobile devices.”
Samsung Rewards ‘increased the use of Samsung Pay by 48%’
Samsung Rewards: Growing big in year one, with a preview of the year ahead — Samsung — “After a year of growing 25% month-over-month, millions of people are enrolled in and actively use Samsung Rewards. In the first week of November alone, we gained more than one million new users in the United States… We estimate that Rewards increased the use of Samsung Pay by 48%… We are also exploring adding innovative new features that our consumers will enjoy such as peer to peer points sharing and integration with partner loyalty programs.”
Samsung Pay reports 2.5m users in India
Samsung Pay service reaches 2.5 million users in India — Android Headlines — “Samsung Pay reached 2.5 million users in India, one million more than it had in mid-September, a company official said on Wednesday… Samsung’s service is presently available on 26 devices in India, up from ten when it officially debuted in the country in early 2017. It’s currently supported by ten banks and seven more local card issuers.”
Rambus supports launch of Interac debit payments on Samsung Pay in Canada
Rambus collaborates with Samsung Canada and Interac to help deliver Samsung Pay in Canada — Rambus — PARTNER NEWS — “Rambus Inc, a leader in digital security, semiconductor and IP products and services, announced that it has teamed with Samsung Canada and Interac Association/Acxsys Corporation, the organizations behind Canada’s leading payment brand, to help enable Interac Debit on Samsung Pay in Canada. The Interac Token Service Provider (TSP), developed in collaboration with Rambus, now helps allow Interac users to make secure mobile debit payments through tokenized transactions using Samsung Pay.”
Samsung Pay adds Visa, Mastercard, Amex and Interac debit options in Canada
Samsung Pay expands in Canada with new partners — Samsung Electronics Canada — “Following a successful introduction with CIBC in the Canadian market, Samsung remains committed to enhancing Samsung Pay and making it a holistic digital wallet extending beyond credit cards with the introduction of debit cards and new partners including Interac Debit, Scotiabank, American Express Canada, ATB Financial, Visa Canada and Mastercard. In addition, Samsung Pay will be made available soon to Tangerine and Peoples Card Services customers.”