Samsung Acquires Mobile-Pay Company LoopPay To Rival Apple Pay

By Kamal Nayan - 18 Feb '15 23:19PM

Samsung has acquired the mobile-payment company LoopPay, a move that's clearly aimed to counter Apple Pay. The Boston-based mobile payment tech firm has been acquired for an undisclosed sum.

LoopPay has a history of launching a fob-based payments solution that is compatible with the existing magnetic stripe readers. It is being expected that the company will launch the next generation of the digital wallet when Samsung Galaxy S6 launches.

"Today is a great day for LoopPay and all those who have supported us over the last few years," said co-founder Will Graylin on the company's website Wednesday. "Our vision of inspiring consumers to transition from a physical wallet to a truly digital wallet will continue."

The company added in the press release that co-founder George Wallner will work closely with Samsung's mobile division.

"This acquisition accelerates our vision to drive and lead innovation in the world of mobile commerce," said JK Shin, the president and head of IT and mobile for Samsung Electronics. "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."

Apple has tasted early success with its own mobile payment system Apple Pay and has been constantly expanding its reach. Google is also working on a new generation of mobile payment system after unfortunate Google Wallet.

According to reports, smartphone point-of-sale mobile payments in the U.S. amounted to $3.5 billion in 2014, but are expected to skyrocket to $27.5 billion in 2016.

"Samsung's acquisition of LoopPay signals how serious it is about building and launching a competitive mobile payments system in the United States," said eMarketer analyst Bryan Yeager. "It also likely gives Samsung exclusive access to LoopPay's technology, which enables mobile payments to be made at merchants who haven't upgraded their point-of-sale technology to support newer contactless payment methods like NFC - of which there are many."