Samsung Pay To Make US Debut September 28, Go Head-to-Head With Apple Pay

Despite all of the promises of mobile payments being our future, the market is timid right now while the companies behind different solutions prepare for their large-scale roll outs. One of these companies is Samsung, with its creatively named Samsung Pay. According to the company, the service will launch in Korea on August 20, and follow-up with a US launch on September 28. UK, Spain, and China launches will come at a later date.

This announcement was made alongside the launch of the brand-new Galaxy S6 edge+ and Galaxy Note 5. Says JK Shin, the CEO and Head of Samsung's IT & Mobile Communications Division, "With the launches of these exciting new smartphones, we will open a new era of mobile payment. This is Samsung’s brave step forward to enhance our mobile experience. It is easy, safe, and most importantly, available virtually anywhere you can swipe a card, in most cases without new costs for merchants, from day one."

Samsung Pay will ship on these new phones, while an update will be provided in the near-future for other devices. Users of any one of the S6 edge phones will have a chance to beta test the service starting on the 25th of this month. Information is not given on how someone would apply for the beta, so it could be that it'll be sent as an over-the-air notification.

Samsung prides itself on offering the most useful and supported mobile payments system out there, thanks to its support of Magnetic Secure Transmission and Near Field Communication protocols. The company says that "most existing" point-of-sale terminals will be able to take advantage of Samsung Pay automatically. One thing's for sure, it has a lot of support from a range of financial institutions, including Chase, Bank of America, U.S. Bank, American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa.

While a number of executives at these institutions have kind words for Samsung Pay, Discover's Dian Offereins is particularly positive, "Discover’s focus on simplicity and versatility aligns with Samsung Pay’s innovative use of technology. Offering this new payment service continues to enhance the convenience and mobile experience we’re providing to our customers."

Sounds good to me. Are you anxious to begin paying with your mobile phone?