This year we expected smartphone payments to become commonplace , but this payment method, which would make things easier for many users, seems to be stalled. The convergence of banks and technology companies has made the former very reluctant to cede any ground that could allow the latter to quickly overtake them.
Samsung is one of those tech companies that has Samsung Pay as its mobile payment service , which will finally arrive on the vast majority of its phones at the beginning of next year. According to Business Korea, the service will appear on all models except for some low-end models. This is a way of positioning itself in anticipation of major banks opening their doors to this type of payment, following news like this other one.
Samsung began pre-installing Samsung Pay on its phones in 2015 in the United States and South Korea, but this only occurred on its flagship devices. Now, the Korean manufacturer is reporting that its focus is shifting to pre-loading this payment method on its lower-cost devices, as the manufacturing cost of a fingerprint scanner has decreased.
The Korean company is planning to launch Samsung Pay Mini next month, a version of the Samsung Pay app compatible with non-Samsung smartphones. Interestingly, Apple itself rejected its proposed launch on the App Store, so it's not just banks that are reluctant to relinquish their space for others to "take over."
Meanwhile, Samsung Pay continues to expand to more regions and is expected to launch in Russia, Malaysia, and Thailand sometime later this year. Alternatively, you can download the app from the Play Store.
