Samsung ties up with Alipay to increase Samsung Pay user base in China

Samsung Electronics is teaming up with Alibaba-backed Alipay to allow Samsung Pay users to link their Alipay accounts to the app, as the South Korean giant looks to get more Chinese users on board its mobile payments service.

Samsung launched its Samsung Pay service in China at the end of March, five weeks after rival Apple launched its similar mobile payments service Apple Pay in the country. Samsung Pay allows users to tie their bank or credit cards to the service and use it to make in-store payments.

Both companies are fighting for a slice of the country’s mobile payments market, which is currently dominated by Alipay and Tencent’s Tenpay. Alipay and Tenpay collectively held about 70 per cent of China’s mobile payments market share last year, according to Marbridge Consulting.

Injong Rhee, executive vice-president at Samsung Electronics, said that Samsung will be working with Alipay to “expand Samsung Pay services in China”.

“Alipay covers the vast majority of online payment use cases,” said Fan Zhiming, president of the Payment Business Unit at Ant Financial. “The technology integration … with Samsung Electronics will make the payment process faster and more convenient when users make payments at stores where Alipay is accepted.”

But Michael Yeo, senior market analyst at IDC, said he believes the partnership is not a “game-changer” and is unlikely to expand the number of Samsung Pay users.