SEOUL, South Korea—Samsung reports that Samsung Pay is gaining widespread consumer acceptance in its first month, with cardholders showing “strong” interest in repeat usage of the service.
"After one month, the numbers say it all: Consumers who have used Samsung Pay are using it repeatedly because it works almost anywhere you can swipe or tap a card," said Samsung Pay global co-general manager Thomas Ko in a statement.
According to the company, Samsung Pay is also deepening relationships between consumers and retailers—enabling shoppers to use gift cards on their phones at their favorite stores, through a partnership with Blackhawk Network that includes dozens of top retailers in categories like grocery, fashion, entertainment and dining. By the end of this year, consumers will be able to load and use these gift cards, the company said.
As of Oct. 28, the Samsung Pay app had between one million and five million installs from the Google Play store alone, Wireless reported.
Unlike its competitors, such as Apple Pay and Google’s Android Pay, Samsung Pay employs LoopPay’s contactless magnetic stripe technology (MST) that allows it to be accepted nearly anywhere traditional credit cards are taken. The service also works with barcode and NFC technology, further reducing the friction formerly faced by users in the mobile payment space.
According to Samsung, three out of four Samsung Pay transactions were made using the service’s MST technology, validating Samsung’s belief that MST would be a critical component to the success of the payment system.