Samsung tests mobile wallet overseas

Seoul, Korea – Samsung is testing a mobile wallet solution, but it may be a while before U.S. consumers get to join in the fun.

The consumer electronics giant announced in a blog posting that Korean consumers can now use a beta version of its Samsung Pay mobile payment application.

Samsung Pay functionality is built into the hardware of Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge mobile devices, but select Korean consumers will have the first chance to try out the software and cloud services supporting the service. Samsung says Samsung Pay is the first and only mobile payment service that works with both near field communication (NFC) and card readers with magnetic secure transmission (MST) technologies, which means it is already compatible with most POS terminals.

To pay, consumers launch the Samsung Pay app, hold their Samsung device near the credit card terminal and authorize it with their choice of fingerprint or a PIN number. Cards can be added to a Samsung Pay account with a photo or also manually entered.

To initiate payment, users swipe up from the bottom on the home screen, even when locked or turned off. They can swipe left and right to view registered cards and then place their finger on the home button to scan their fingerprint, or touch the ‘insert PIN’ button and use the PIN. Holding the phone against the card reader completes payment.

Security is provided by unique, encrypted tokens that banks associate with a user’s card. If a device with Samsung Pay is lost or stolen, users can remotely lock or delete their Samsung Pay account.

According to Samsung, the company will roll out Samsung Pay worldwide in the future. Apple Pay, Android Pay and (when it is re-launched) Google Wallet will likely have a new competitor in the U.S. sooner rather than later. Of course, according to recent Gallup data, only 13% of U.S. adults with a smartphone have a digital wallet on their device and 91% of those without a digital wallet don’t intend to get one within the next year.