As financial technology continues to emerge as an increasingly profitable sector, established companies are innovating and moving with the times. South Korean tech giant, Samsung’s latest announcement that it’s partnering with financial technology firm UK-based Finablr on a money transfer service for its payments app signals the beginning of a new competing app in the industry.
Earlier this month, Finablr announced the partnership with Samsung Pay, claiming that the feature called Money Transfer will “offer users seamless and secure cross-border payments to 47 countries through a variety of payout methods, all within Samsung’s native mobile wallet.”
This new alliance combines Samsung Pay’s convenience, transparency, and security with Finablr’s international reach and 40 years of experience in cross-border payments.
“Money Transfer is a first step in our vision to evolve Samsung Pay into a platform that makes users’ financial lives more convenient,” Sang Ahn, Samsung Electronics America’s vice president and division head of content and services, said in a statement. “The range of services in Samsung Pay, developed in close collaboration with industry leaders such as Finablr, positions us to positively impact consumers’ everyday financial experiences.”
Remarkably, Money Transfer is the tech conglomerate’s attempt to permeate the US market, which research has shown, has to this day been resistant to mobile payments. While in countries like China and India, mobile wallets like Alipay, WeChat Pay, and Paytm have proved popular.
Samsung Pay users in the US will be able to use existing eligible payment methods, including debit and credit cards to securely send money in most major currencies per Finablr's global networks. As transparency remains to be of utmost important to Samsung, all the fees and exchange rates are included upfront, allowing users to know in advance what they will be paying.
Notably, the FinTech firm claims its cross-border payments technology serves more than 25 million people in 170 countries worldwide. Samsung joins a growing movement of tech companies pushing to offer financial services, shaking up how consumers interact with the banking industry and global remittances.
While Samsung Pay’s payment service is currently available for US customers only, they plan to expand to other countries in 2020.
