Samsung Electronics spent about $250 million to acquire LoopPay, a Massachusetts-based start-up whose technology will be used in the Samsung Pay mobile payments system, according to news reports.
Since the acquisition was made in February, this is the first time that the deal price has been revealed.
On Thursday, several foreign media outlets reported the acquisition price, citing unnamed sources. But both Samsung and LoopPay declined to confirm.
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| A Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge phone with an embedded credit card |
LoopPay is one of the key acquisitions made under the leadership of Samsung’s vice chairman Lee Jay-yong over the past year. LoopPay founders Will Graylin and George Waller and other executives also joined Samsung.
Samsung is embedding the system first in its new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S6, to launch the service in July, starting with Korea and the United States. The company is also said to be making efforts to advance its Chinese launch.
While Apple Pay has won the buzz war in the nascent mobile payments market since its launch in October, Samsung Pay seems poised for higher use at retails.
Unlike Apple Pay and Google Wallet based on near field communication technology, Samsung Pay mimics a card swipe, which means it can work nearly everywhere.
The Samsung service doesn’t require a store to upgrade its current checkout equipment. It is also expected to be compatible with the NFC reader.
Ahead of the official service launch, Lee, the Samsung heir, has expanded partnerships with financial organizations, especially in the U.S. and China.
By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)
