Review: Samsung Pays Where Apple Can't

Amanda Esquivel

Review: Samsung Pays Where Apple Can't 

Published: September 29, 2015

http://www.wsj.com/articles/review-samsung-pays-where-apple-cant-1443542282

     Although Apple Pay was the first to make life a little easier by being able to pay for things on our phones, it is not as convenient as Apple would have hoped. Apple Pay is only available at certain establishments, such as McDonald's, Sephora, and Whole Foods. On the other hand, Samsung has taken Apple's initiative and one-upped them. Samsung has created a true way to eliminate the physical use of credit cards all together. Their new mobile payment system is called Samsung Pay, and it became available this week on the latest Samsung phones. This new payment system works with Visa, American Express, and MasterCard, as well as requires one's fingerprint prior to use, just like Apple Pay. The biggest difference between the two is that while Apple Pay is only available at select places, Samsung Pay can be used virtually anywhere because it uses Magnetic Secure Transmission. This means that one's Samsung phone will trick the card reader at any given establishment into thinking that a physical card is being swiped, when in reality one is only holding one's phone over the magnetic strip reader. Samsung Pay supposedly works at 85% of stores in the United States, with the exception being those that are equipped with much older card readers. all mobile payment systems are a work in progress, but Samsung Pay is currently winning because of it's availability. 

    This article is relevant to our marketing class because it is a perfect example of the third C of competitors. Samsung is constantly trying to be better than the newest iPhone, and in many instances, such as this one, they succeed. I was interested in this article because I have an iPhone and have never used Apple Pay because I never understood the point of it if I still have to use my debit card at most places. Now, I am not going to switch to a Samsung phone just because their mobile payment system is better than Apple's because I am a firm believer in the statement, "If it's not an iPhone, it's not an iPhone." However, I do think that Samsung has really stepped their game up with Samsung Pay as well as many other aspects of their brand.