Samsung Pay has found its first financial services supporter in Spain. CaixaBank and its ImaginBank subsidiary will enable their customers to start using Samsung’s mPayment platform.
While some banks have offered support to rival Apple Pay only to drag their feet in actually enabling the service, CaixaBank says its support for Samsung Pay will take effect upon the service’s launch. In a press release the bank asserts that it is Samsung’s “key partner for its promotional campaign strategy,” and that over 700,000 customers now have access to the service.
The bank’s enthusiasm is perhaps an acknowledgment of the growth expected for major mPayment platforms like Samsung Pay, given that CaixaBank launched its own CaixaBank Pay mPayment platform last September. The organization asserts that the Samsung Pay support demonstrates that it “is developing its payment method innovation strategy with the aim of incorporating the latest global trends in its offer.”
It’s great news for Samsung Pay, which is racing against Apple Pay to spread to new markets around the world. The service is also expected to launch in the UK this quarter, and to reach China soon after.
[UPDATE – June 3, 2016: An earlier version of this article erroneously suggested that Samsung Pay had launched in Spain at the time that CaixaBank first announced its support. In fact the bank’s support was announced well in advance of Samsung Pay’s actual launch in the country.]
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