The two most prominent mobile payment platforms are now available in Russia. Samsung Pay launched in the country at the start of the month, and Apple Pay made its debut yesterday.

Between the two, Samsung Pay has a bit of an edge. Like Apple Pay, it has Mastercard support, but it’s also backed by multiple financial services institutions including Alfa-Bank, MTS Bank, Raiffeisen Bank, Russian Standard Bank, and Yandex. Right now Apple only has the support of Sberbank.

Samsung also has a much bigger base of potential users, as its marketshare in the country weighs in at 20.6 percent, compared to Apple’s 10.4 percent. Of course, as we have noted, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay are restricted to different devices and operating systems and are therefore not in direct competition. There’s plenty of room for both to grow as users in Russia and elsewhere get more excited about mPayments.

Sources: GSMArena, NFC World