Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd acquired Massachusetts based mobile payments startup and Apple Pay competitor LoopPay for around 250 million USD. Samsung is set to integrate LoopPay’s patented Magnetic Secure Transmission technology (MST) to develop a “seamless, safe, and reliable mobile wallet solution.”
Back in 2012, LoopPay co-founders Will Graylin and George Wallner invented the Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) technology which enabled point-of-sale machines or magnetic stripe readers to receive contactless payments from mobile phones.
Samsung agreed to acquire the mobile wallet solution provider in February 2015 to integrate LoopPay’s MST technology into Samsung’s new mobile payment platform Samsung Pay. According to Samsung’s research, LoopPay’s MST technology will most likely work in 90% of point-of-sale terminals without any new infrastructure needed by merchants.
JK Shin, President and Head of IT and Mobile Division at Samsung Electronics stated in a press release:
“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.”
Samsung first announced the launch of Samsung Pay in early 2015, concurrent to the acquisition of LoopPay. With Apple Pay already receiving positive responses from users in well-established financial institutions including Visa and MasterCard, Samsung plans to allow its users to authorize payments using fingerprint readers in the Samsung Galaxy S6.
“Through this deal we can significantly accelerate our mobile commerce efforts,” announced David Eun, EVP of Samsung’s Global Innovation Center. “LoopPay’s outstanding leaders and team have deep-rooted relationships with banks, card networks and merchants that will complement those Samsung has established over the years.”
The acquisition dates back to the negotiations between Samsung and LoopPay in December of 2014. With the 250 million USD acquisition of LoopPay, Samsung plans to launch Samsung Pay this summer, to compete with Google Wallet, Apple Pay and PayPal. Utilizing LoopPay’s patented MST technology to their advantage, Samsung aims to provide an easy and reliable mobile wallet solution that will most likely work in 90% of point-of-sale terminals.