Samsung Pay Sees Strong Repeat Usage Among US Consumers

Samsung Electronics Co's new mobile payment service Samsung Pay has enjoyed strong repeat usage among US consumers with an average of eight transactions per user, the world's top smartphone maker said on Tuesday.

Samsung Pay, which rivals mobile wallets like Apple Inc's Apple Pay and Google's Android Pay, allows consumers to pay at retail locations using their smartphones. It was launched on Sept. 28 in the United States.

Samsung's mobile wallet offers wide coverage of payment terminals where it can be used, and this is its biggest advantage, the company said at the Money 20/20 payments conference in Las Vegas.

Samsung Pay allows users to make payments by putting their phone on, or near, magnetic stripe card readers already in wide use at retailers. It has signed up credit card firms and banks such as Visa, MasterCard and Chase as partners.

By comparison, Apple Pay, launched last September, requires retailers to install new equipment that supports near field communication (NFC) compatible with its service.

"Consumers who have used Samsung Pay are using it repeatedly because it works almost anywhere you can swipe or tap a card," Thomas Ko, global co-general manager of Samsung Pay said.

In the past four weeks, three out of four Samsung Pay transactions were made on magnetic stripe card readers and the remaining were on NFC terminals, Samsung said.

The smartphone maker is also expanding the network of banks that support Samsung Pay. It will add cards issued by Chase, PNC Bank and thirteen other banks and credit unions in the coming months.

© Thomson Reuters 2015