Samsung Announces a Successful Payment Launch in South Korea with $30 Million in Accumulated Transaction Volume in First Month

Samsung announced that Samsung Pay is off to a successful start in South Korea with more than $30 million (₩35.1 billion) in accumulated transaction volume through Sept. 20, one month since it first launched. Samsung Pay is proving its biggest advantage is its wide acceptance among merchants in South Korea with more than 1.5 million total transactions to date and approximately 60 percent of the transaction taking place on the Galaxy Note5 device. Usage of the mobile payment service has surged, recording approximately 36 percent active users in its first month with about 10 percent using Samsung Pay daily.

“Although the details on Samsung Pay usage are constantly being updated, the response we’ve received so far has been beyond our expectations,” said Injong Rhee, executive vice president of Samsung Electronics and global head of Samsung Pay. “We knew Samsung Pay would be a game-changer in the mobile payments industry and now with the user data, we are seeing the greater impact it is having on consumer behavior and on the lifestyle of our customers.”

Samsung Pay in South Korea also introduced several value-added services including:

• Payments that support select integrated circuit (IC) readers;
• Online payments using a Samsung Card (credit and debit); and
• Advanced ATM cash withdrawal transactions using a Woori bank account, with
• Transportation services and loyalty card memberships coming soon.

Samsung Pay is scheduled to launch in the United States on Sept. 28, with plans to bring the service to the U.K., Spain and China soon. Samsung Pay is currently available on the Galaxy S6, S6 edge, S6 edge+ and Note5 devices, and it is the first payment solution that is simple, secure and accepted almost anywhere you can swipe or tap a card. Samsung Pay will also support NFC technology on Samsung Gear S2 in select countries after the device launches.