Will Verizon Join The Samsung Pay Bandwagon?

The largest wireless telecommunications provider in the U.S. has set off some “will-they-or-won’t-they” speculation regarding Samsung Pay.

ZDNet recently shared some conflicting reports as to whether or not Verizon Wireless will support Samsung’s mobile wallet technology, which — although it counts AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile among its partners — could certainly benefit from having Verizon in its corner as it attempts to compete with Apple Pay.

On Tuesday (Aug. 18), Samsung’s social media support team stated in a Twitter conversation: “Verizon isn’t part of Samsung Pay.”

One day later, however, ZDNet’s Kevin Tofel — in response to a request for confirmation on that matter — received an email from Verizon Wireless that said, “We are in the process of evaluating Samsung Pay, and we will keep our customers updated on any news regarding the service.”

That open-ended statement from Verizon, in contrast with Samsung’s earlier, more definitive message, suggests a couple of different possibilities, as ZDNet puts forth. Verizon Wireless could still turn out to be a partner with Samsung Pay, just not at the time of the service’s launch (estimated to occur in September); or — even still — the telecommunications provider might opt to get on board before that time.

The latter case, ZDNet attests, would be the more desired scenario for Samsung Pay. Should the carrier not be a part of Samsung Pay when it goes to market, the mobile wallet platform would be starting off without a significant portion of wireless customers among its user base. The longer that continued, Samsung Pay might find itself at an increasing disadvantage against Apple Pay.

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