Samsung Pay adds three new countries, online payments to portfolio

One year after launching, Samsung Pay is expanding the program’s reach and functionality.



Samsung Pay is now available in three new countries, including Malaysia, Russia and Thailand, which will make the mobile wallet accessible to consumers across 10 countries by the end of 2016.



“When we introduced online payments in South Korea last year, the service was well received by the market,” said Thomas Ko, VP and global general manager, Samsung Pay, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics.



During the launch, Samsung also noted that “online payments accounted for more than 25% of the 2 trillion processed transactions, demonstrating that consumers may be actively looking for solutions to make their online experiences faster, simpler and secure,” he added.



Building off of this customer demand, Samsung Pay is integrating Masterpass, a digital payment service from MasterCard, to drive more simplified online payment and express checkout. The service will be available “early next year,” according to a company statement that added Masterpass is already accepted online by merchants in 33 countries.



“By partnering with Masterpass in the U.S., and rolling out online payments globally, we will simplify the online transaction experience by eliminating the need for customers to fill out tedious online checkout forms, remember long passwords or fumble for their wallets,” Ko said.



Besides skipping long online forms, the new service supports digital purchases made from a computer, tablet or smartphone via web sites or mobile apps. It also features a unique token used for encryption in place of actual debit or credit card numbers, increasing online security. Meanwhile, users can authenticate transactions through secure methods, including a fingerprint scanner, which is built into Samsung’s mobile devices, the statement said.