The Samsung Pay mobile payments system has officially started rolling out in South Korea, but only as a trial run for select customers for now.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, Samsung Pay is Samsung's answer to the Apple Pay mobile payments solution. Both Apple Pay and Samsung Pay rely on NFC communication, but there are some notable differences between the two.
More specifically, Samsung Pay also features support for Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) technology, which enables it to work with existing point of sale (POS) devices. This, in turn, adds extra convenience for retailers because they don't have to upgrade their existing terminals for the service.
Samsung Pay will eventually become available worldwide, but its initial markets will be Korea and the U.S. Samsung has now taken a step forward, kicking off a pre-launch pilot program as a test run in Korea, allowing select Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge owners to test Samsung Pay before its general release in the country.
"It won't be long until the world's most convenient mobile payment app to date, Samsung Pay, is launched in Korea. And in preparation for the full rollout, a Samsung Pay trial with Samsung Card began on July 15, for select customers in Korea," Samsung explained.
The Samsung Pay mobile payments system allows customers to pay by holding their device near the payment terminal in store and authenticate the payment either by inputting a code or by scanning their fingerprint.
Users can store a number of credit cards for use within the Samsung Pay app, but the device will not store their actual data or send it during a transaction. According to Samsung, a set of security technologies, combined with a high level of encryption, will ensure user data remains secure.
Samsung Pay works only with the latest-generation Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge smartphones for now, and only for select customers in Korea. A wider rollout should occur later this week in Korea, followed by a release in the U.S. It remains unclear at this point just when Samsung Pay will hit other markets worldwide, or what other devices will support it in the future. The upcoming Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy Note 5 Edge should support Samsung Pay as well, but it's yet to be confirmed.
