One nifty feature now separates Samsung from the competition in the mobile payments realm!

Samsung Now Rivals Android Pay as the Top-Ranking Mobile Payment Solution

Google’s Android Pay solution has been a smash-hit with a wide range of compatible mobile smartphones and tablets across the United States. Just recently, a conference was hosted in Washington D.C. where industry executives gathered to discuss e-Wallets and the mobile payments industry in general. This yearly conference is hosted by the Networld Media Group (NMG) and the Electronic Funds Transfer Association (EFTS). There was plenty of discussion about the latest innovations in the mobile technology and payments industry, but one aspect in particular caught the attention of those in attendance: Samsung’s Magnetic Secure Transmission Technology.

Is Samsung’s Technology the Better Pay Option?

MST – Magnetic Secure Transmission – is precisely what separates Samsung from the rest in terms of mobile payments. This technology transforms your mobile smartphone into a large credit card. This payments solution is only available on Samsung phones mobile payment platform via Samsung Pay. The technology officially launched on the 28 September 2015. In order to make the technology possible, Samsung Pay uses LoopPay. This is the company that was purchased by Samsung to enable Samsung Pay.

This feature works with a metal coil that is formed in the shape of a loop. As current passes through the coil, a magnetic field is formed. This allows for ‘communication’ with magnetic card readers. The functionality of MST technology is not dissimilar to the way a credit card is swiped through a card reader. With regards to MST and Samsung phones, your phone is placed above the credit card reader and ‘communication’ occurs between your phone and the POS.

What is LoopPay’s Part in MST Technology?

Near-field communication – otherwise known as NFC, is newer than MST by LoopPay. Samsung’s MST is distinct from Apple’s Apple Pay and Google’s Android Pay. There is very little demand for near-field communication as this mobile payments technology has low levels of acceptance with credit card readers. For the most part, the retailers you are likely to frequent will not have NFC-enabled software available. Much the same is true for Android Pay technology and Apple Pay technology. NFC upgrades for retailers are simply redundant and owing to the smaller number of NFC-enabled devices it would not be financially beneficial to retailers to make the necessary upgrades. And this is precisely where MST gains traction with users because the terminals do not require any upgrades.  

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the ATM Industry Association, Mike Lee fully endorsed the Samsung Pay MST technology as the winning mobile payment solution. The rights to this technology were acquired by Samsung when it purchased LoopPay earlier in 2015. Now, mobile smartphone users with the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge devices have the MST technology embedded in the phones. The jury is out on whether MST technology is really as groundbreaking as the pundits claim. Several analysts claim that the MST technology was faulty when Samsung bought LoopPay. The errors were evident in various Point-of-Sale (POS) devices. What is more important with any new technology is consumer reaction to it. If the general opinion is that the technology does not function as intended, it will be abandoned before too long.

The Enemy Within – Samsung is its own Worst Enemy

Samsung is facing increasing competition from within its own ranks. Google recently inked a deal with telecom giants T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon to acquire Softcard tech. As a result, Android Pay is going to be pre-installed on multiple Samsung smartphones as well as the newest versions of Android OS. But skeptics remain. Consumers are likely to be slow to adopt the technology for several reasons, notably: There are so many available options for consumers, and Google’s pre-existing agreement with mobile operators.

But perhaps the biggest hurdle facing the e-Commerce market and the mobile market in particular is that of the so-called ‘Couch Commerce’ consumer. Consider for a moment that Facebook introduced the Groups feature where just about anyone can set up a Group to buy/sell merchandise. eBay already has several hundred million registered traders, and Twitter is soon adding buy/sell functionality too. These social media innovations are being designed for maximum consumer convenience and to dramatically reduce the bounce rate. With online commerce becoming the biggest drawcard, Twitter and Facebook are trying to displace eBay as the premier social media e-Commerce giants.

Challenges with Samsung MST Mobile Payments

It doesn’t end with social media. More and more people are simply taking to their mobile smartphones and tablets to make online purchases, rather than venturing out to retailers and seeking out compatible POS terminals. That Apple Pay, Android, NFC and MST technology exists is somewhat of a befuddlement to shoppers who simply want a safe, convenient and hassle-free way to make payments using their mobile smartphones. For now though, Samsung Pay is in partnership with just 4 banks across the United States, including US Bank, American Express, Bank of America and Citi Bank.