Samsung Pay plans to add support for US online shopping in 2016

Samsung Pay is likely to enable online shopping in the US next year. According to some latest reports, Samsung Electronics Co. plans to expand the mobile payment service in lower-priced Samsung phones to allow customers to make online purchases with their smartphones that support the electronic wallet.

Thomas Ko, global co-general manager of Samsung Pay, confirmed the news by saying that Samsung’s mobile wallet will roll out to Samsung phones within next year. Samsung Pay was first launched in South Korea and it was available for a few handpicked high-end Samsung phones like the Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 Edge Plus and Galaxy S6, reports Reuters.

According to The Verge, Samsung Pay is a very useful payment service that involves Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology. However, the payment service also uses Magnetic Source Transmission (MST) technology which emits a magnetic signal that imitates the magnetic strip as found on any traditional payment card.

When you hold your Samsung mobile phone with the Samsung Pay service app open on the screen on a credit card reader, the machine instantly recognizes your payment card and the payment is made via your phone.

Samsung Pay indeed has more advantage than Android Pay and Apple Pay, which rely only on NFC technology. However, the technology is still not available worldwide, notes The Verge. By accepting US online shopping facilities, Samsung Pay will enter into competition with rival PayPal Holding Inc., as well as Visa Inc.’s Visa Checkout.

Samsung Pay, which was launched on Sep. 28 in the US, is already creating waves across the country. The app is highly compatible with older and newer credit card terminals, Ko said. Therefore, shoppers at Target and Walmart Stores can make payments for any purchase simply by swiping their Samsung smartphones with the app open on the screen against a credit card reader machine.

Apple Pay, on the other hand requires retail shops to install machines that support NFC technology for acceptance of the payment app, observes Reuters.