On Feb. 18, 2015, tech giant Samsung Electronics, Co., Ltd. announced that it has acquired LoopPay, an acclaimed digital wallet solutions provider. The mobile wallet service transforms existing magnetic stripe readers into secure, contactless receivers.
Samsung collaborated with LoopPay to strengthen the company's efforts to give users a seamless, safe and reliable mobile wallet.
"This acquisition accelerates our vision to drive and lead innovation in the world of mobile commerce. Our goal has always been to build the smartest, most secure, user-friendly mobile wallet experience, and we are delighted to welcome LoopPay to take us closer to this goal," President and Head of IT and Mobile Division at Samsung Electronics JK Shin said
Having first identified the potential for the pioneering technology, Samsung became LoopPay's strategic investor together with Visa and Synchrony Financial. The investment helped the MST technology development of LoopPay. Will Graylin and George Wallner, founders of the mobie payment system, will be working closely with Samsung's Mobile Division as part of the agreement of the acquisition. They will help the company further its mobile wallet ambitions.
"We are excited to take our relationship with LoopPay to the next level, by bringing consumers a mobile wallet solution that is not just safe and reliable, but also widely accepted at more locations than any competing service," David Eun, EVP of Samsung's Global Innovation Center, stated.
According to internal research, LoopPay's technology currently works with the regular, existing credit card terminal with no other hardware investment for merchants. This technology paired with Samsung's leading mobile technology, global presence, and distribution capabilities will definitely help push innovations in the digital smart wallet.
According to Darrell Etherington of Tech Crunch, Samsung's acquisition confirmed rumors that the tech giant could make use of this technology as a competition for Apple Pay. Even LoopPay markets its services as an alternative to Apple Pay for non-iOS device makers and emphasizes its ability to mimic mag stripe technology which means that it does not require updated hardware in most stores already in place.
