Apple has finally embraced wireless payments with the new iPhone 6 and Apple Watch. Both are equipped with NFC-based Apple Pay. That doesn't mean Samsung is throwing in the towel on digital payments. Samsung has teamed up with PayPal to create a mobile payment function on its next smartwatch.
Information comes from Business Korea who quoted a high-ranking Samsung official saying that the new watch will also include biometric verification (most likely a fingerprint reader) provided by Synaptics, a company best known for producing notebook touchpads for companies like Dell, Lenovo and of course, Samsung. The official also said that the earliest release would be early next year, possibly coinciding with Mobile World Congress 2015, which takes place in Barcelona, Spain from March 2 to 5, 2015.
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Samsung has been the most prolific smartwatch maker to date, with five models currently available for sale. This ranges from standalone Samsung Gear 2 Neo, which lets you answer calls and emails straight from your watch, to the most recent Samsung Gear Live which features Google’s Android Wear OS.
On the payment end, Synaptics is a founding member of the Fast Identify Online Alliance. This consortium for biometric identification includes major companies, including Bank of America, Visa, Google and Microsoft.
Recently, both Visa and PayPal have come out with new smartphone apps that seek to make mobile transactions easier, but with low adoption rates there is still room for another company like Apple or Samsung make dollars and cents of the mobile payment space.
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Sam Rutherford is a Staff Writer at Tom’s Guide. Follow him @SamRutherford on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @Tom’s Guide on Facebook and Google+
