Just a year after its launch, Samsung Pay is about to get its derivative app, christened ‘Samsung Pay Mini’. The app will roll out within the first quarter of the year, providing all Android-running smartphone users, an online payment solution. The app will be functional on all Android-powered smartphones, whether or not they possess the Samsung branding. It will come with support for various services such as membership, lifestyle, and transportation.
Unlike Samsung Pay, the new app does not support offline payment using a reader. Samsung Pay channelizes offline payment using Samsung’s patented coil within the hardware for reading magstripes.
The company will release updates for both the apps in South Korea. It will add an exclusive new feature to the apps called as Shopping, to connect users with a few local online shopping malls which Samsung has onboarded. Another expected feature is a reward feature which will provide additional benefits based on points to the customers.
The minimum requirements include Android 5.0 Lollipop or above and an HD (1280×720 minimum)display screen. The Korean giant further informed that the beta version of the app will be out from February 6th in Korea. The app will be available for download on the Google Play store. Samsung is yet to reveal launch dates for other countries, though nothing is finalized.
As per reports of August 2016, Samsung has carried out more than 2 trillion transactions in South Korea. The executives further unveiled plans for deployment relative to the mobile service platform. The expansion of mobile services will help the company to take over Apple, company’s arch-rival. The company fell short in terms of its smartphones t in the past few months courtesy to its Galaxy Note 7 scandal; hence benefitting the Cupertino giant.
Currently, the platform’s rivals include Google’s Android Pay and Apple’s Apple Pay. The company is also proposing to launch its Samsung Pay wallet services in India, mostly by mid-2017.
