A new mobile payment service may be added to Galaxy S6

Feb 18, 2015 22:38 GMT  ·  By

With less than two weeks until the reveal of Samsung's next flagship smartphone, the South Korean company has announced that it has acquired LoopPay company.

LoopPay offers a complete mobile wallet solution and it could be a real alternative to Apple's Pay service that has been recently launched along with the iPhone 6.

Samsung is well-known for copying Apple's moves, its main rival on the smartphone market. From services to design of smartphones and software, Samsung is getting everything it can from Apple, as the company does not seem to be able to innovate on its own.

With the launch of Galaxy S6 at Mobile World Congress 2015 trade fair, Samsung may also announce some kind of contactless mobile payment service.

“This acquisition accelerates our vision to drive and lead innovation in the world of mobile commerce. Our goal has always been to build the smartest, most secure, user-friendly mobile wallet experience, and we are delighted to welcome LoopPay to take us closer to this goal,” said JK Shin, president and head of IT and Mobile Division at Samsung Electronics.

Founders of the company will work directly with Samsung Mobile division

LoopPay’s technology turns existing magnetic stripe readers into secure, contactless receivers, and according to internal research, it has the potential to work in approximately 90% of existing POS (point-of-sale) terminals, without having to make any investment in new infrastructure required by merchants.

Two of LoopPay's founders, Will Graylin and George Wallner, will work closely with Samsung’s Mobile Division, as part of the acquisition.

“Through this deal we can significantly accelerate our mobile commerce efforts. LoopPay’s outstanding leaders and team have deep-rooted relationships with banks, card networks and merchants that will complement those Samsung has established over the years,” said David Eun, EVP of Samsung’s Global Innovation Center.

We will probably know more about the results of this acquisition in the coming months, but the first details might be coming as early as March, at MWC 2015.