A representative from Samsung has told Business Korea that “We have decided to pre-install Samsung Pay in Samsung Electronics’ smartphones to be released from next year.” All Samsung Phones released with a fingerprint scanner will have Samsung Pay pre-installed on them, including their cheaper J series phones.
They have also announced that they will launch Samsung Pay Mini, this is an application that will allow consumers without a Samsung phone to utilize Samsung Pay. Unfortunately Apple has already rejected the app from it’s store, so it will likely only work on Android devices.
I’m pretty excited about both developments, Samsung Pay is clearly the best mobile wallet platform at the moment as it can be used on all terminals (not just those with near field communication capabilities) thanks to their acquisition of LoopPay and the fact that they have a rewards program and sell discounted gift cards.
I’ve been seriously considering getting a Samsung phone because of these reasons, but with the introduction of the Samsung Pay Mini I might get a Google Pixel instead. The mini is scheduled to launch in January, so I’ll make my decision then.
Update: I originally thought the Samsung Pay Mini was a physical device as well as an app (this would allow it to be used at swipe terminals and NFC terminals like regular Samsung Pay). Unfortunately this is not the case and it’s just an app that can be used for online payments. The phone dilemma continues.
