As Samsung prepares to roll out its mobile payments to more international markets, the company reveals that the product has picked up five million registered users and processed over $500 million in transactions in the first six months since its launch in South Korea and the US.
The company says it now supports eligible credit and debit cards from more than 70 major and regional banks in South Korea and the US.
InJong Rhee, EVP and head of R&D, software and services of Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics, says: “We’ve already seen significant consumer adoption and we continue to see great momentum. Our aim is to expand Samsung Pay to even more locations around the world, and our customers should expect to see more features in the year to come.”
He says global expansion will being next month, as the company introduces Samsung Pay in China. This will bring the firm head-to-head with Apple, which made its debut in China last week, alongside local tech giants Alibaba and TenCent.
Other market set for roll out include Australia, Brazil, Singapore, Spain and the UK "later in the year". Canada has also been added to the launch roadmap, says Rhee.
Alongside high street payments, the consumer electronics firm says it is additionally partnering with BC Card, Hana Card, KB Kookmin Card, Lotte Card, NH Nonghyup Card and Samsung Card in its home market to extend the use of Samsung Pay's fingerprint authentication service for online shopping.
Samsung says it will also extend the service beyond credit and debit cards, to cover transit passes, coupons and membership cards.