Samsung Pay Scores Eight More Payment Card Issuers

Samsung Pay now has the support of eight more payment card issuers, Samsung has announced.

Its newest MasterCard issuers include Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union, Citizens Equity First Credit Union, State Employees’ Credit Union, Security Service Federal Credit Union, Virginia Credit Union, and SunTrust. It also has a new Visa backer in Navy Federal Credit Union.

But it’s perhaps the support of Chase—whose Visa debit, credit, and Liquid cards are now compatible with Samsung’s mPayment platform—that is the most remarkable. Chase is a notable supporter not just because it’s a major American bank, but also because it is reportedly working on its own mPayment platform; evidently the bank welcomes a bit of friendly competition. In a statement acknowledging the bank’s support, Chase Head of Digital Gavin Michael asserted that “Samsung Pay gives our customers another convenient way to pay with their Chase cards.”

The support gives Samsung a welcome boost as it continues to market Samsung Pay as “the most widely accepted mobile payment solution,” as Samsung Pay head Injong Rhee puts it. There is good reason for this claim to fame: While Samsung Pay features the same NFC technology that makes mPayment rival Apple Pay compatible with merchants’ contactless POS readers, it also uses MST technology allowing it to emulate swipe card transactions on older magnetic stripe card readers. That effectively makes it compatible with more merchants than its chief rival; and now, with growing support from card issuers, Samsung can assert even more widespread compatibility.

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(Originally posted on Mobile ID World)