According to rumors, Samsung is going to launch a new mobile payments app in January. The app is named “Samsung Pay Mini” and it should've made its debut on both iOS and Android. It turns out, however, that the new app will not be available for iOS in the foreseeable future.
Apple Has Rejected "Samsung Pay Mini" On The App Store For Undisclosed Reasons
"Samsung Pay Mini" is reportedly an app that will extend Samsung Pay to other smartphones beyond Samsung's own Galaxy-branded devices, thereby competing with Android Pay. The report claims Samsung has finished testing Samsung Pay Mini with some South Korean credit card companies, but it did not specify if the app will be made available elsewhere. It is also reported that the Korean Tech Company is ready to launch the new app on January 2017 to both iOS and Android handsets.
According to PhoneAreana, Apple rejected the registration of the “Samsung Pay Mini” app on its App Store. Reasons for the rejection were not made public, but we can safely assume that Apple wants to keep Apple Pay the main go-to app for mobile payments on its own OS. Despite the fact that “Samsung Pay Mini” will be focused only on online payments, unlike Apple's solution, which can completely replace your physical cards, it's highly likely that Apple wouldn't want a strong competitor in its own ecosystem.
"After Apple rejected the registration of Samsung Pay Mini onto its app store, we have decided to focus on Smartphones with Android OS." said a representative for Samsung Electronics.
What Could Be Apple's Plan?
Apple is considering to launch Apple Pay in South Korean markets during the first half of 2017 as it prepares to open their first brick and mortar flagship store in Korea later in the fall. According to PatenlyApple report, Apple's first flagship store is under construction in Garosugil, a shopping district in Southern Soul and is expected to be completed in November 2017. The name 'Garosu-gil' is the Korean word which means tree-lined streets, as the area is adorned with ginkgo trees.
In addition to the report, it also says that the latest news comes after Apple posted job openings in September seeking Korean employees in various areas including sales, specialists and "Geniuses." Geniuses are technicians who carry out in-store repairs of Apple products at the Genius Bar. Some Korean analysts were quick to respond to the news by saying "it's too early to tell whether the opening of one store would make such a big impact in the market which is already dominated by local smartphone makers."
