Samsung and Mastercard are collaborating on a biometric payment card with an integrated fingerprint scanner. The card promises to eliminate points of physical contact with a Point of Sale (PoS) device.
With a clear aim of boosting security and reducing physical contact points, Samsung is designing a card in association with MasterCard. While the Samsung Card sounds better than Apple Card, there are a few caveats.
Samsung Electronics and Mastercard to jointly launch a Payment Card with a built-in fingerprint scanner:
Samsung Electronics and Mastercard announced a new strategic collaboration today. The main agenda is developing a Samsung Card with a built-in fingerprint scanner.
Together, the companies intend to offer a Payment Card for secure transactions at in-store payment terminals. It seems the Samsung Card will be similar to the Mastercard Biometric Payment Card.
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The payments company has also certified a biometric payment card from Thales and Fingerprint Cards which is being commercially launched this year.https://t.co/CwDa7vIkrX— fimo 🇩🇰 (@fimo_DK) March 4, 2021
The global payment facilitator’s solution had a similar intention. Moreover, it also featured an integrated fingerprint scanner.
Incidentally, the biometric Samsung Card will pack a new chipset that the South Korean tech giant’s System LSI Business will manufacture. However, the payment card will be compatible with any Point of Sale (PoS) or Mastercard chip terminals.
It is not immediately clear if the biometric Samsung Payment Card will work with the Samsung Pay platform. The company hasn’t explained why it is developing its own tech to incorporate within the new payment card. However, there are a few likely reasons.
Is the Samsung Card better than Apple Card?
It is amply clear that the biometric Samsung Payment Card has better technology than the Apple Card. In fact, Apple’s solution doesn’t have any tech on the physical card at all.
The Samsung Card will reduce physical contact points. This is because the card will offer authentication and verification directly from the onboard fingerprint scanner.
Additionally, owing to Samsung’s collaboration, the payment card will be compatible with Mastercard’s authentication tech. This means the card will work on any Mastercard chip or POS terminal. This significantly boosts applicability and acceptability.
🛑BREAKING NEWS🛑
Samsung has announced the second generation Samsung Card with a built-in fingerprint scanner!
It will first be released in Korea and later in other markets. pic.twitter.com/mILKmtoxiq
— Anthony (@TheGalox_) March 4, 2021
The Apple Card, on the other hand, seems like a stylish, thin metal slab. Apple Card is basically a physical titanium card that has the user’s name laser etched. Its users need to enter a code into a POS device for user authentication and payment authorization.
Apple Card, however, is backed by Apple Inc.’s powerful software background. The company promises simplicity and ease of use with AI-driven data analysis.
Incidentally, despite using Mastercard on the clearing and point-of-sale side, the company will not offer the financial backend of the biometric Samsung Payment Card. In other words, the card is owned by Samsung Life Insurance.
”Samsung Card will lead the roll out in South Korea, with plans to introduce the biometric card later this year. The adoption of the solution will be a gradual process, starting from corporate credit cards that have more frequent international transactions.” https://t.co/WRiwp5Tlrf
— Phuur (@PhuurXVI) March 4, 2021
The subsidiary of Samsung is reportedly South Korea’s biggest credit card company. This explains why Samsung will gradually roll out the card.
The initial launch of the payment card is phased and limited to South Korea. Moreover, the tech giant is reportedly limiting the availability to the corporate sector in the initial release phase.
The biometric Samsung Payment Card does benefit from the company’s expertise and fraud detection systems. But its severely limited availability is a glaring limitation when compared to the Apple Card.