Samsung Pay Coming To India and Could Impact NFC Payment Industry
Samsung Pay has been in use in a variety of countries in recent time. The system works as a solution to help people get mobile payments handled effortlessly. The system is coming to India very soon and will certainly make an impact in how the cashless economy works.
Samsung Pay has been used around the United States and Southeast Asia and is a competitor to similar services like the Google Wallet and Apple Pay. India will soon be getting Samsung Pay very soon. It is unclear as to when the service will come about but it will be coming according to a leak on the newest Samsung Galaxy Note 5 Android update. This comes from information through Sammobile.
The update will add the Samsung Pay application to that phone. This means that it will improve upon how payments may be made in a variety of forms.
About Samsung Pay
Samsung Pay is a system that works in a rather unique manner. It uses NFC, or near-field communication, technology to help with making payments. This works to get the payment managed without having to swipe anything. It is done with security in mind as it keeps card information from being at risk of being stolen.
A magnetic signal will be sent to a receiver that works with Samsung Pay. This improves upon how well the data on the card is moved. It is also a secure solution that keeps data from being at risk of being stolen.
There are many extra parts of Samsung Pay to see:
- An electromagnetic system is also included with Samsung Pay. This works for payment terminals that only work with magnetic stripe cards. This helps to ensure that the payment process is simple regardless of the type of terminal that the payment is to be used on.
- Credit cards and reward program information can be linked onto one’s Samsung Pay account. This adds extra security to those cards and keeps people from having to bear with complicated card systems for their payment needs.
- There are partnerships with major credit card services planned for the future. These include plans to support Visa, MasterCard and American Express cards. RuPay may also be considered for India although it is unclear if Samsung will offer support for that one.
Competing Locally
Samsung Pay will be competing with a variety of other payment options. It will compete with mobile wallet solutions like FreeCharge, Paytm and MobiKwik. Such digital wallets make it easier for people to manage these accounts.
ICICI Bank released a system similar to Samsung Pay called Tap n Pay a while ago. The Mahindra Group also released a similar system called MoboMoney. However, these were not able to compete with the other options.
The fact that Samsung Pay works with an NFC payment system is especially exciting. This comes amid the belief that it will change how payments are made by working with a stronger setup.
Concerns About the Move
This move to an NFC system is an exciting development for India. However, there are few problems with the Samsung Pay system to watch for:
- There are concerns over who could potentially support the Samsung Pay setup. A proper receiver is needed at a payment terminal to take in the signals that Samsung Pay generates.
- Not all retailers around India will be able to afford to get the programming needed to support Samsung Pay. This comes amid problems that the system is possibly fragile and easy to break into. Many payment stations will have to be fully overhauled.
- Not all phones can handle Samsung Pay. The Samsung Galaxy S6 and S7 lines and the Galaxy Note 5 are the only ones at this moment that can support the system. There are about 2.5 million of those phones in use around India. Much of the success of Samsung Pay will depend on who gets newer Samsung devices.
- Google will be introducing the Google Wallet system in India very soon. Apple has expressed an interest in bringing Apple Pay to India too. This could create a complicated and crowded NFC payment market that might hurt Samsung.
- The general unfamiliarity of the NFC system to people around India may also hurt. Education may be required to help people understand more about how the NFC system works and what makes it different.
Plans for getting Samsung Pay to roll out in India are expected to be underway soon. Stay tuned to see what may come about with the system and how it can be used around the country.
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