Samsung Pay is adding new markets

Samsung Pay is officially launching in Singapore in June, with Australia set to follow soon after, as the mobile giant brings its proprietary mobile wallet service to Southeast Asia. Samsung has partnered with major Singapore-based banks, including CitiBank and Standard Chartered, as well as Visa and Mastercard, while in Australia, partner American Express is rumoured to be joined by Bank of Melbourne and Westpac, among other financial institutions. Samsung benefits from mature markets in both countries, controlling 29% of Singapore’s smartphone market, as well as 70% of Australia’s Android and 40% of the nation’s smartphone market.

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Samsung Pay, Samsung’s proprietary mobile wallet, will add its fifth market and first in Southeast Asia when it officially launches in Singapore on June 16. The wallet’s Australia launch is also “coming soon,” with reports indicating June 15 as a likely announcement or launch date, according to IBS Intelligence.

Samsung Pay will launch with solid partnerships.

Singapore: Samsung Pay has partnered with Visa and MasterCard and banks including Citibank, DBS, POSB, OCBC, and Standard Chartered. Samsung also noted that Amex support is "coming soon."

Samsung Pay has partnered with Visa and MasterCard and banks including Citibank, DBS, POSB, OCBC, and Standard Chartered. Samsung also noted that Amex support is "coming soon." Australia: American Express will support the wallet in Australia, and it’s rumored that other banks, including Bank of Melbourne, Bank SA, Bendigo Bank, Citibank, St. George, and major bank Westpac could also sign on, according to IBS Intelligence.

Both Singapore and Australia could be strong markets for the wallet.

Wide market: 1.3 million Singaporean adults — 29% of the country’s smartphone market — have Samsung phones. And in Australia, Samsung controlled roughly 70% of the Android market and 40% of the country’s smartphone market overall as of Q3 2015, according to AFR. And users from both countries are interested in mobile payments — Samsung saw "thousands" of users sign up for a Samsung Pay beta test in Singapore, and Australian bank ANZ saw account applications "skyrocket" after announcing a partnership with Apple Pay, another mobile wallet.

1.3 million Singaporean adults — 29% of the country’s smartphone market — have Samsung phones. And in Australia, Samsung controlled roughly 70% of the Android market and 40% of the country’s smartphone market overall as of Q3 2015, according to AFR. And users from both countries are interested in mobile payments — Samsung saw "thousands" of users sign up for a Samsung Pay beta test in Singapore, and Australian bank ANZ saw account applications "skyrocket" after announcing a partnership with Apple Pay, another mobile wallet. Mature ecosystem: Users in Singapore and Australia are already accustomed to paying contactlessly. In Singapore, a third of all Visa credit and debit transactions in the country are conducted contactlessly. In Australia, many major banks offer their own proprietary NFC-based apps. That familiarity with tapping to pay should lower mobile wallet adoption barriers. And in Singapore, Samsung Pay will be accepted at any terminal that accepts magnetic stripe payments in addition to newer NFC-based terminals, which could give users the opportunity to pay contactlessly at an even larger number of locations.

Mobile payments are becoming more popular, but they still face some high barriers, such as consumers' continued loyalty to traditional payment methods and fragmented acceptance among merchants. But as loyalty programs are integrated and more consumers rely on their mobile wallets for other features like in-app payments, adoption and usage will surge over the next few years.

Evan Bakker, research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on mobile payments that forecasts the growth of in-store mobile payments in the U.S., analyzes the performance of major mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay, and addresses the barriers holding mobile payments back as well as the benefits that will propel adoption.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

In our latest US in-store mobile payments forecast, we find that volume will reach $75 billion this year. We expect volume to pick up significantly by 2020, reaching $503 billion. This reflects a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 80% between 2015 and 2020.

Consumer interest is the primary barrier to mobile payments adoption. Surveys indicate that the issue is less the mobile wallet itself and more that people remain loyal to traditional payment methods and show little enthusiasm for picking up new habits.

Integrated loyalty programs and other add-on features will be key to mobile wallets taking off. Consumers are showing interest in wallets with integrated loyalty programs. Other potential add-ons, like in-app, in-browser, and P2P payments, will also start fueling adoption. This strategy has been proved successful in China with platforms like WeChat and Alipay.

In full, the report:



Forecasts the growth of US in-store mobile payments volume and users through 2020.

Measures mobile wallet user engagement by forecasting mobile payments' share of their annual retail spending.

Reviews the performance of major mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

Addresses the key barriers that are preventing mobile in-store payments from taking off.

Identifies the growth drivers that will ultimately carve a path for mainstream adoption.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:

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The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of how mobile payments are rapidly evolving.