Samsung Pay will soon add support for payments via PayPal, joining already existing options for bank accounts, credit cards, and gift cards.
Samsung Pay Adds PayPal Payments Support
It's a small update, though no small addition: it gives PayPal users an entirely different channel to use their PayPal balance. This is especially useful considering Samsung Pay works anywhere a credit card also does.
The way it works is pretty simple: just link your PayPal account to Samsung Pay, and you can begin using your Samsung Pay-enabled phone to pay for items using your PayPal balance. It's straightforward enough, and it makes us wonder why such a functionality wasn't made available earlier.
The update, due soon, will first roll out to U.S. customers before a global expansion. It will also enable Braintree merchants to add Samsung Pay as an option for checkout.
"At PayPal, we are focused on creating the best mobile commerce experiences for our customers, and partnering with technology leaders, like Samsung, to create experiences that our millions of joint customers love and can utilize no matter where they shop," said PayPal COO Bill Ready.
Samsung claims its proprietary NFC-based payment method is simple, secure, and accepted almost anywhere. It works with both NFC technology and Magnetic Secure Transmission, which transmits magnetic waves from the device to the card reader, replicating a card swipe. Thus, Samsung Pay works anywhere a card can be swiped.
Venmo Integration In The Works?
PayPal has yet to announce if Venmo is also included in the plans. Suppose it does add support to integrate Venmo with Samsung Pay down the road, it'll certainly allow people to use Venmo outside of the app itself. As it stands, payments via Venmo are still only available to a select few merchants in a limited beta.
Anyhow, Samsung Pay supporting PayPal payments seems probably more favorable to PayPal, since its payments system isn't as pervasive in retail as other methods. With Samsung Pay, PayPal can more easily penetrate the world of in-store payments, enabling PayPal users to spend their balance in a much simpler and easier way.
That said, Samsung also benefits from this partnership in the form of PayPal-owned Braintree, making Samsung Pay an official payment method. The partnership is basically a win for both companies.
Do you use both Samsung Pay and PayPal? Are you thrilled about their integration? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
