SEOUL: Samsung Electronics Co has bought U.S. startup LoopPay, signalling its intention to launch a smartphone payments service to compete with a recent offering from rival Apple Inc.
Mobile payments have been slow to catch on in the United States and elsewhere, despite strong backing. Apple, Google, and eBay Inc’s PayPal have all launched mobile wallet services to allow users to pay in stores via smartphones.
The weak uptake is partly because many retailers have been reluctant to adopt the hardware and software infrastructure required for these new mobile payment options to work. These services also fail to offer much more convenience than simply swiping a credit card, Samsung executives said.
