Samsung says it will partner with PayPal to offer mobile payments in the next edition of its Galaxy Gear smartwatch.
The Korean manufacturer appears to be following in the footsteps of its great rival
PayPal has announces its app for Android Wear
Apple, which earlier this month announced that its upcoming Apple Watch would support similar technology, allowing customers to make quick payments using their device.
In an extremely candid interview with South Korean site Business Korea, a “high-ranking” Samsung executive confirmed that mobile payments technology would be one of several new features present in the third generation of the company’s wearable device, which will be unveiled next February at Mobile World Congress 2015.
“We are currently developing the smartwatch equipped with fingerprint identification technology and relevant solutions through cooperation with PayPal, the world’s most renowned financial transaction service company, as well as Synaptics, a global company specialized in biometric verification,” the executive said.
“By the earliest, the third generation smartwatch to be released early next year will have this new system in which payment is authorized immediately when users identify themselves through biometric sensors such as a fingerprint or login”.
The new payments service would also include an app to inform customers of promotions from nearby stores, allowing them to pre-select goods before entering, and then paying at the checkout with their smartwatch.
Samsung will be looking to launch the payments service in more than 50 countries, but will need to create an all-new offering for its home nation of Korea, which does not currently have PayPal support.
The company previously teamed up with the payments provider to provide a similar service in its recent Galaxy S5 smartphone, which also featured a fingerprint scanner.
The most recent incarnation of Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smartwatches (pictured above) were only launched last move, powered by the company’s own Tizen operating system and featuring full cellular functionality as well as several sensors for capturing fitness related measures such as heartbeat.
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