MasterCard gets on board Samsung Pay

By Digital News Asia March 3, 2015

Galaxy S6 owners can use MasterCard cards from participating banks directly
Available for US consumers this summer, looking at additional markets

SAMSUNG Electronics Co Ltd has unveiled Samsung Pay, a mobile payment service that will enable MasterCard cardholders to use their Samsung Galaxy S6 for everyday in-store purchases.

MasterCard built the foundation for secure digital transactions, so consumers can use their cards when, where and how they want, Samsung said in a statement issued from the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Samsung Pay delivers a seamless and secure mobile payment experience that will work at both contactless-enabled and most traditional point of sale (POS) terminals, it added.

For consumers and merchants alike, that means that every purchase made with a MasterCard using a Samsung Galaxy S6 will offer the enhanced security, benefits and guarantees of a digital MasterCard transaction including the latest tokenisation technology, it claimed.

Owners of the new device will be able to use their MasterCard credit and debit cards from participating banks directly through Samsung Pay.

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MasterCard gets on board Samsung Pay “This is an exciting time for payments,” said Ed McLaughlin (pic), chief emerging payments officer, MasterCard.

“As consumers are increasingly relying on their mobile devices in their everyday lives, we are excited to work with an industry leader like Samsung to deliver new payment options to our cardholders around the world.

“We have been a pioneer of mobile commerce innovation for years and together we’re delivering a digital payment experience that is both simple and secure,” he added.

The MasterCard Digital Enablement Service (MDES) enables MasterCard consumer credit and debit cardholders to use Samsung Pay.

Samsung Pay leverages industry-standard cryptography-based protections to ensure secure transactions. To further protect consumers, Samsung Pay transactions also incorporate additional security features including tokenisation via MDES and fingerprint or passcode payment authorisation.

“From the start, Samsung’s vision for mobile payments and commerce has been centred on security, wide acceptance, and a simple user experience,” said Samsung executive vice president Dr Injong Rhee.

“With MasterCard’s tokenisation services in conjunction with Samsung’s unique MST (magnetic secure transmission) and NFC (near-field communication) technologies, Samsung Pay makes secure contactless mobile payments possible at most NFC or traditional magnetic POS terminals,” he added.

Samsung Pay will first be made available for US consumers this summer. MasterCard will be working with Samsung to roll out Samsung Pay to additional global markets including South Korea.