Mikey Campbell
Following in the footsteps of Apple Card, and in the shadow of a rumored debit card solution from Google, Samsung on Thursday announced plans to field a physical debit card product in partnership with finance company SoFi.
Announced in blog post penned by Samsung Pay VP Sang Ahn, the upcoming debit card is touted as "innovative" and will be backed by a cash management account at launch.
Not much is known about the program beyond a tie-up with SoFi, though it is expected to be closely integrated with Samsung's existing payments products.
"Over the past year we have been busy developing a mobile-first money management platform," Ahn writes. "Our vision is to help consumers better manage their money so that they can achieve their dreams and goals. Now more than ever, mobile financial services and money management tools will play an even bigger role in our daily lives while also opening up new possibilities.
Additional information about the debit card solution will be revealed "in the coming weeks."
The Samsung Pay expansion follows similar market moves from Apple and Huawei.
In 2019, Apple Card launched as a branded credit card backed by Goldman Sachs and Mastercard. The card boasts deep integration with the Wallet app in iOS to deliver unique money management tools like color-coded spending overviews, instant interest calculations and direct access to customer support via. Apple Business Chat. Like other Apple products, security is a major Apple Card feature.
Google, too, is rumored to compete with a more traditional debit card that links to a bank account associated with Google Pay.
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16 Comments
The worst part about Samsung, Google, Microsoft, Amazon... They have ZERO, NONE, NO shame whatsoever. But why should they, it's all about the mighty moneys. Apple has long been the leader and often imitated. This continues even though, Apple itself has slowed/fallen from innovation. Still, the only reason Apple is doing so well, is because the competition sucks miserably. :D So I guess, Cheers to Apple? ... Go Apple!? :/ yup.
I made the mistake of dealing with SoFi once. On the suggestion of our accountant I checked into refinancing my student loans. Without telling me, SoFi did a hard pull on my credit file which affects credit rating. They offered me a poor interest rate, 2 points higher than I already had and I refused but since then I've gotten an endless stream of junk mail from them. Just stay away.
Apple Pay must fall under their services division, which explains the strong revenue growth. Contactless payment is king now.
Let's hear the usuals and their excuses "Psh Apple didn't invent the credit card and these knockoff companies would have done this anyway... and Google Wallet!"
Can you use your Samsung card in Apple Pay?
I mean, presuming you wanted to. Asking for a friend.
Wonder how long it will take for that to spread to other countries.