Samsung acquires LoopPay to take against Apple Pay

Samsung has made another acquisition to take against Apple Pay. The start up tech firm of the United States “LoopPay” requires extra hardware to work with which fortunately can be incorporated in Samsung Smartphones. This mobile payments firm could take Samsung ahead of its rival the Apple Pay. The payments firm produces an add – on device that is quite small, for Smartphones. The device takes care of the transmission of the credit card info with the help of an app that is installed on the phone. Information is transmitted wirelessly for making a payment when the device is held close to the usual magnetic strip reader. The MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) technology of LoopPay works by simulating the magnetic fields that are generated by the magnetic strip.

This helps in effectively converting the card readers into devices capable of making contactless payments and doesn’t even calls for any modifications. This approach is quite different from the Near Field Communication (NFC) technology used in Apple Pay. To use Apple Pay the retailers must have the contactless payment terminals that can receive NFC signals from the user’s device. Massachusetts based mobile payments firm has claimed that its technology would work at 90 percent sale terminals in the United States. This is sure to put Samsung on the edge of competition in mobile payments. On the other side the NFC technology can only be used in less than 10 percent retailers of U.S. even though the technology was developed years ago. The issue of merchant acceptance because of which a number of mobile payment solutions weren’t favoured by masses can be resolved using the MST.

With LoopPay it becomes easy for the merchants as they don’t have to upgrade the check out devices. But the users have to buy an extra hardware which is a small rectangular device that can be attached to the phone. The Apple Pay’s hardware is come in-built with the Apple watch and the iPhone. It can also be used on some iPads. Another LoopPay product is a Smartphone case that costs around $59 and incorporates the MST card. It also has storage for driver’s license and other cards. The users should be able leave home without wallets and only a Smartphone is the whole idea behind LoopPay.

As told by Samsung, the executives at LoopPay will be working closely with the Samsung’s mobile technology division for incorporating it into Samsung devices. Reports have it that the new Galaxy S6 Smartphone could be shipped with this new technology next month at the Mobile World Congress. The details of the flagship Smartphone haven’t been announced yet.