Samsung Pay has been exclusive to Samsung smartphones ever since its launch in September 2015, but today Samsung announced plans to bring its platform to non-Samsung phones. Sort of.
Samsung Pay Mini is now official. The new service will offer online purchases to non-Samsung Android smartphones after downloading a dedicated app. To use Samsung Pay Mini, you’ll need a phone running Android 5.0 or higher and a display resolution of at least 1280x720.
Also included with Samsung Pay Mini will be access to Samsung Pay membership, lifestyle, and transportation services. One thing that won’t be included, though, is the ability to make offline purchases in stores.
Samsung is also planning to include a new feature in Samsung Pay Mini called Shopping, which will connect with popular local online shopping services that’ve partnered with Samsung. This feature will also be added to the full Samsung Pay app.
Samsung Pay Mini will launch in beta on February 6, with a full launch in Korea in the first quarter.
While not as fully functional as the regular Samsung Pay app that has offline payments, Samsung may be hoping that consumers will try a Samsung phone and the full Samsung Pay experience after exploring the Samsung Pay Mini app. As for what it's like to use that Samsung Pay Mini app, it sounds like most of us will have to wait and see if Samsung has a wider launch in its plans, because right now there's no word on when or if a launch outside of Korea will happen.