Samsung Pay Card takes online payment system offline

Samsung Pay Card [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Samsung Electronics has released a Samsung Pay Card tailored for users of the payment service integrated into its mobile devices.

The tech giant said Monday that the credit card, offered in partnership with affiliate Samsung Card, is designed to offer loyalty programs and points when users use the payment service at stores partnered with Samsung Pay.

Interested users of the payment service can apply for the card starting Monday and track their balance and make monthly payments on the existing platform.

With a 15,000 won ($13) annual fee, cardholders will be entitled to 1 percent cashback on purchases at brick-and-mortar partnered retailers and 1.5 percent cashback online.

As well as regular Samsung Pay payments, the Mastercard allows users to make transactions overseas using Samsung Pay.

Mastercard users will be able to receive 5 percent discounts on overseas transactions based on the payment service.

Industry insiders anticipate a different set of Samsung Pay-linked products and partnerships to generate the so-called “lock-in” effect, making it hard for existing users to leave the service.

Samsung Pay is one of the largest payment services in Korea with 19 million users as of August. Accumulated transactions total 80 trillion won, according to Samsung Electronics.

BY PARK EUN-JEE [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]