Samsung has launched its mobile payment service in China, following a similar move by Apple last month, but both face an uphill battle against dominant local electronic wallet services like Alipay.
ADVERTISEMENTSamsung has launched its mobile payment service in China, following a similar move by Apple last month.
Users of the South Korean company’s more expensive smartphones can make credit and debit cards payments from their accounts at nine major Chinese banks, with six more banks to follow later. Like Apple, Samsung has partnered with a local company – UnionPay.
China’s mobile payment market has huge potential, but is dominated by local firms Alipay and WeChat which makes it difficult for the likes of Apple and Samsung to compete.
Samsung Pay is currently available on Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy S6 edge-plus and Galaxy Note5 in China and will be supported by mid-range models in the future.
Samsung introduced its Pay service in the United States last September, using technology that was already in shops there, unlike Apple and Android which require retailers to install new equipment.
And it plans to compete with the likes of PayPal by allowing US users to shop online with its smart phone based electronic wallet.
