With all of this talk about Android Pay now being in Canada (joining Samsung Pay and Apple Pay) it’s funny to hear about yet another company working on its own mobile payment app. Following in the steps of Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, Korean company LG is launching LG Pay, according to the Korea Herald.
Currently, the new mobile payment app only works with four credit card companies in South Korea, with more Korean financial institutions to come.
LG plans on competing with Samsung Pay with its new app, by using a different approach to imitate regular cards in magnetic strip terminals. LG will be using Wireless Magnetic Communication, as opposed to Samsung’s Magnetic Secure Transmission. There isn’t much difference between the technologies from a user’s perspective, both requiring the smartphones to tap against a reader.
Being able to work with magnetic strip terminals, however, means this technology would have the upper hand on mobile payment apps that require NFC. That benefit is less helpful in Canada, though, since tap technology has already become prevalent, rendering magnetic strip-based debit or credit cards fairly outmoded.
The new app only works with the LG G6, but LG says it will expand the service to its other smartphones at some point.
As it stands now, LG hasn’t stated it has any intention to release its new technology outside of South Korea. However, assuming it would like to compete with Samsung, Apple and Google there’s a possibility the app could be expand to North America if its trials go well.
Source: Korea Herald Via: Android Central
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