Samsung, UnionPay launch NFC payment service in China

UnionPay, China's largest card company, has launched its near-field communication (NFC) payment service with Samsung.

The Shanghai-based card company said UnionPay's NFC payment system can be used by more than 3.6 million Samsung smartphones in China, including the Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note 3, and Galaxy S4. Samsung is the first company to cooperate for NFC payment service with UnionPay.

UnionPay users can immediately use NFC features of their Samsung phones after they save card information through mobile applications.

Samsung expects that its NFC service will secure a large slice of Chinese payments, as UnionPay's market share of offline payment is around 80 percent.

A Samsung spokesman said, "We'll cooperate more with UnionPay, not just for NFC payment, but all financial services that use a mobile device."

According to research from the Samsung Economic Research Institute, when card companies cooperate with smartphone makers including Samsung and Apple, the card company will secure a lesser commission than from using credit cards. However, the widespread use of mobile devices still makes it a worthwhile endeavour for both handset makers and card firms.

The Suwon, Korea-based company's spokesperson declined to comment on commission with UnionPay.

Source: ZDNet.co.kr