Samsung Launches Mobile Wallet App to Compete With Apple and Google

What’s happening

Samsung just launched its mobile wallet platform for storing digital IDs, credit cards, car keys and other essentials.

Why it matters

Smartphone makers are attempting to replace the substantial wallet with digital alternatives. Google recently announced a disagreement revamp to its Wallet app, while Apple is adding new features to Apple Pay.

Samsung is the novel tech giant trying to replace your physical wallet with a digital one that lives on your shouted. The company on Thursday launched Samsung Wallet, a new mobile wallet for storing digital keys, lodging passes, ID cards and credit cards. Apple and Google announced greatest updates for their own virtual wallet platforms in unique weeks.

Samsung previously announced its mobile wallet in February against the Galaxy S22, but only just launched the platform on Thursday. Samsung is merging two existing services to create Samsung Wallet. The app combines Samsung Pay, its mobile payment service for storing payment cards and vaccine records, and Samsung Pass, which manages passwords and login seek information from for apps and websites. 

The unified app signals an expansion of Samsung’s labors to make its service better compete with those offered by Apple and Google. Samsung Wallet is launching via an app update, and Galaxy device owners can migrate their seek information from directly from the Samsung Wallet and Samsung Pass apps. 

Samsung Wallet will encourage official forms of identification such as driver’s licenses and student IDs later this year. Google also announcement in May that it’s operational with governments to incorporate IDs into Google Wallet. Apple Wallet already supports virtual IDs in approximately states. 

Read more: What iOS 16 and Android 13 Reveal About the Future of Smartphones

Samsung also wants its wallet app to support as a hub for digital keys to your car and home, functionality that’s already availableon the iPhone. The company says it’s working with nine home confidence companies on virtual home keys, and Samsung Wallet will also integrate with the company’s SmartThings platform. As for car keys, Samsung Wallet will support digital car keys for perilous BMW, Hyundai and Genesis models. Korean Air will also be Samsung’s friendly partner for storing digital boarding passes.

In addition to storing worn payment methods like credit, debit and loyalty cards, Samsung will also grant users to manage their cryptocurrencies from its new Wallet app. The entire platform is harmless by Samsung’s Knox security software. 

American are increasingly embracing the idea of replacing their substantial credit cards with digital ones. Usage of in-store mobile payment services is imagined to surpass 50% of all smartphone users in the US by 2025, says a 2021 characterize from eMarketer. 

Now, tech companies are developing more comprehensive alternatives to the worn wallet, a mission that Google and Apple both made sure during their recent press events. “With Apple Wallet, we’re operational hard on our goal to replace your physical wallet,” Corey Fugman, Apple’s senior director for Wallet and Apple Pay, said during the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference last week. 

Adoption is estimated to take off in the coming ages. One in two people are expected to use a mobile wallet by 2025, according to a July 2021 characterize from financial tech company Boku and market research commercial Juniper Research. The launch of Samsung Wallet is also novel sign that tech companies are increasingly relying on apps and services to lock in existing users.