(credit: Samsung)
It’s been a little over a month since Samsung Pay’s launch in South Korea, and today the mobile payment service is available to owners of select Samsung phones in the US. But a year after Apple Pay launched, and without the broad reach of Android Pay, which launched earlier this month, does Samsung have a product that anyone will use?
First, let’s start with the restrictions: at launch, Samsung Pay will only be available on Galaxy S6 edge+ and Galaxy Note5 devices, as well as Galaxy S6 and S6 edge devices. In addition, Samsung still hasn’t brokered a deal with Verizon to allow compatibility on that network, so it will only work if your select Samsung device operates on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, or US Cellular. When it comes to card networks, Samsung Pay is at least playing with a full deck here: Both MasterCard and Visa, the two biggest card networks in the US, are on board. But Samsung Pay needs the approval from card issuers as well, and so far only people with cards at US Bank, Citi, Bank of America, and American Express will be able to use Samsung Pay.
All those caveats mean that the number of people in the US who will be able to take advantage of Samsung Pay at launch is not very big. Add to that the fact that on Samsung’s phones, its service will be in direct competition with Android Pay, Google’s second, more mature mobile payments service. (Google Wallet launched) in 2011.
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