Samsung Pay has roughly 5 million users, China launch planned for March
Samsung Pay has garnered roughly five million users and processed over $500 million dollars in its first six months of availability, Samsung announced.
The company also revealed it will enter the Chinese market -- the largest smartphone market in the world -- in March. Apple Pay, which is also found in the US, UK, Australia, launched in China on Thursday.
"Since its introduction last year, Samsung Pay has changed the way people pay and use their smartphones," InJon Rhee, Samsung's head of research and development, software and services, and EVP of mobile communications business, said in a statement. "We've already seen significant consumer adoption and we continue to see great momentum. Our aim is to expand Samsung Pay to even more locations around the world, and our customers should expect to see more features in the year to come."
Samsung is planning to launch Samsung Pay in Australia, Brazil, Singapore, Spain and the UK later in the year. Additionally, Canada is on the list of countries, but hasn't been given a specific launch timeline.
Samsung is found in a crowded mobile payments scene, alongside Google's Android Pay, Apple Pay, Alibaba, and others. It's not clear how exactly Samsung and Apple -- fiery competitors -- matchup worldwide, however analysis from July 2015 pegged the number of Apple Pay users at 2.7 million. Obviously, this number has grown.
Samsung Pay works in similar fashion to Apple Pay. It works with a variety of contactless payment terminals, including NFC, magnetic stripe, and chip-based systems for accounts loaded through a smartphone.
"Just wait a year. To replace the wallet completely, perhaps, is too big a dream, and it probably won't come to that," Rhee told ZDNet in November.
"Rather, it is a competition with the plastic card. More and more, all the plastic cards -- gift cards, membership cards and the like -- will go inside mobile. Our wallets will get thinner. Samsung Pay and wallets will complement each other, and this will create new value, and become a tool that makes ecommerce much easier," he continued.
Samsung Pay is currently available on the Galaxy S6, S6 edge, S6 edge+, and Note 5, along with the Galaxy A5 and A7.