Samsung launches upgraded digital wallet to take on Apple Pay

South Korea’s tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. said on Friday it is launching its digital wallet platform in 13 more countries by year-end to offer enhanced digital services to a wider base of Galaxy smartphone users.

Equipped with enhanced features, Samsung Wallet aims to take on bigger rivals, including Apple Inc., which rolls out its Apple Pay service for iPhone users in 70 countries.

First launched in June, Samsung Wallet has been available in six countries – Korea, China, the US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. In Korea, Samsung Wallet features are available under its mobile payment system, Samsung Pay.

And now, the platform will also be available in Bahrain, Denmark, Finland, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Norway, Oman, Qatar, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Vietnam and the UAE.

“Samsung Wallet takes everyday convenience to the next level and we have worked closely with our trusted partners and developers to enrich our Wallet experience,” said Jeanie Han, executive vice president and head of the digital life team at Samsung’s Mobile eXperience (MX) Business.

APPLE PAY TO ENTER KOREA VIA HYUNDAI CARD

Apple, which released Apple Pay in 2014, is expected to enter the Korean digital wallet market in partnership with Hyundai Card as early as next month.

Google is also said to be considering launching its own digital wallet platform, Google Pay, soon.

Samsung said its digital wallet is a quick, easy and secure way for users to organize and access important documents and identification – from bank cards and digital keys to travel passes, driver’s licenses and student IDs – with just one swipe.

The company said it will continue to collaborate with its partners and developers to improve the capabilities of Samsung Wallet.

The Samsung Wallet platform is protected by the company’s proprietary security platform, Samsung Knox, which includes functions like fingerprint recognition and encryption.

Samsung Wallet stores particularly sensitive documents in an isolated environment, which offers an extra layer of protection against potential digital and physical hacking attempts, it said.

Write to Jeong-Soo Hwang at hjs@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.