Tech giant Samsung Electronics’ mobile payment solution Samsung Pay has hit the Spanish market, the company said Friday.
The contactless payment solution, which works with traditional payment terminals as well as on near-field-communication-based terminals, is already available in South Korea, the United States and China.
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A consumer uses Samsung Electronics’ mobile payment solution Samsung Pay. (Yonhap) |
The launch of the contactless payment solution in Spain marks the first in Europe.
“Our goal with Samsung Pay is to drive and lead innovation in mobile commerce, giving consumers a safer, smarter and better mobile wallet,” said Victor Kim, Samsung’s global director for Samsung Pay.
The service is now available for customers of financial firm CaixaBank and mobile-only bank imaginBank. Customers of the banks can download CaixaBank and imaginBank debit or credit cards on their smartphones to make payments.
Samsung said it is working closely with Spain’s leading players in a range of sectors including retail and commerce.
Samsung Pay has been gaining traction in the Korean market, with its cumulative transaction volume here surpassing 1 trillion won ($843million) since its release in August last year.
In order to maintain the momentum, Samsung has joined hands with China’s largest e-commerce firm Alibaba to grow their payment systems.
Samsung Pay supports Alibaba’s mobile payment system Alipay, and vice versa.
Samsung Pay also supports credit and debit cards from more than 200 major global and regional banks, including American Express, China UnionPay, MasterCard, and Visa.
“The opportunity for Samsung Pay in Spain is significant, due to the high smartphone penetration rate and the digitalization of the banking sector,” said Celestino Garcia, a corporate vice president of Samsung’s Spanish office.
By Kim Young-won (
wone0102@heraldcorp.com)
