Samsung Aims for Samsung Pay Boost in India with New Affordable Devices

Samsung is aiming to extend the reach of its mobile payment platform in India with the launch of multiple affordable devices aimed specifically at that market.

The first two new devices have just been announced. The Galaxy J7 Max, featuring a 5.7″ display and 4GB of RAM, will hit store shelves on June 20, while the J7 Pro, featuring a 5.5″ screen and 3GB of RAM, will launch in mid-July. While the latter will feature Samsung Pay proper, the former will come with Samsung Pay Mini, an app designed to enable payments through India’s Unified Payment Interface, a widely used payment system; the aim there is to offer payments compatibility that can compensate for the J7 Max’s lack of support for tap-to-pay functionality.

Samsung Pay launched in India earlier this year, around the same time that Aadhaar Pay was starting to emerge. The latter is a payments system designed to let consumers make purchases with the tap of a finger on a merchant’s mobile app: The system links their bank account information to the fingerprint biometrics associated with their profiles in Aadhaar, the country’s national biometric ID program.

Aadhaar’s reach in India is extensive and growing, and as such Samsung may have been facing some stiff competition in the payments sector since the launch of Samsung Pay. Its launch of the J7 Max and J7 Pro, and any further models supporting Samsung Pay, could help to ameliorate the situation.

Sources: The Economic Times, Business Standard