Samsung Pay to Boost Digital Economy, Fulfil PM Modi’s Dreams: Amitabh Kant

Samsung Pay, Samsung Electronics’ flagship mobile payments service, launched to rave reviews in India last week. The biggest compliment for Samsung Pay came from Mr. Amitabh Kant, CEO of Niti Aayog, or the National Institution for Transforming India.

Mr. Kant, a key driver of the Government’s ‘Make in India’ policy, said, “This is a unique innovation. I think it will simplify matters. It will help India technologically leapfrog and take India towards digital economy, which is what PM Modi’s dream all about.”

Mr. Sudipta Roy, GM & Business Head – Consumer Cards at ICICI Bank, recounted his wonderful experience with Samsung Pay.

Mr. Sudipta Roy, GM & Business Head – Consumer Cards at ICICI Bank

“I have actually come to Delhi and I have left my wallet back in Mumbai. Whole of yesterday and today, I have been getting around with Samsung phone. I have done 6-7 transactions so far and all of them have worked flawlessly,” Mr. Roy said.

Mr. Rajiv Anand, Executive Director (Retail Banking), Axis Bank said Samsung Pay’s simple user interface has floored him.

Mr. Rajiv Anand, Executive Director (Retail Banking), Axis Bank

“I really love the user experience that Samsung Pay is able to provide. It’s simple, easy to understand and it’s secure,” Mr. Anand said.

Samsung Pay not only impressed banking executives, but also drew praise from Card Networks’ executives.

“For an end customer, it provides convenience, ease, choice and flexibility. To my mind, the one thing that stands out is safety and security,” said Mr. Manoj Adlakha, CEO, American Express Banking Corp India.

Mr. Manoj Adlakha, CEO, American Express Banking Corp India

T.R. Ramachandran, Group Country Manager -India & South Asia at Visa said, “Something like this, which is convenient and more importantly safe, gives customers a chance to use mobile phones for mobile payments. We think it is one of the vectors to leapfrog the digital payments in the country.”

T.R. Ramachandran, Group Country Manager -India & South Asia at Visa

Samsung Pay has created a unique digital payment ecosystem by partnering with a number of banks and payment gateways. Partners include Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI Cards and Standard Chartered Bank. Citibank India is a forthcoming issuer and its credit cards will be live on Samsung Pay shortly.

Samsung Pay is currently available on Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy S7, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 edge+, Galaxy A5 (2016), Galaxy A7 (2016), Galaxy A5 (2017) and Galaxy A7 (2017).

Samsung Pay will also be available on the Samsung Gear S3 Smartwatch shortly, allowing users to pay with just the movement of their hand.