Samsung Pay Launches Mobile Shopping And Rewards Features

Samsung Pay, the digital development unit of Samsung Electronics, said on Thursday (May 3) that it has added new shopping and rewards features to its mobile payment service.

One of those features uses Bixby, Samsung’s intelligence platform, to enable Samsung Pay users to shop via their smartphone cameras. When consumers point their cameras at an object, Bixby Shopping identifies it and directs that shopper to an eCommerce site operated by a Samsung partner. Bixby Shopping works with Galaxy S9 and S9+ smartphones.

The feature will take Samsung Pay “beyond mobile payments,” the company said in a statement, and help the mobile service capture more of the mobile commerce market.

Additionally, Samsung Pay is launching a cash back feature, which works within the Samsung Pay mobile app. In the “Cash Back” section of the app, users will “find a range of exclusive offers from leading retailers,” Samsung said in a statement. When shoppers use Samsung Pay to buy items included in those offers, consumers “instantly” receive cash in their mobile wallets. They can then put the cash toward any future transaction made with Samsung Pay.

“The app is now a cash register, a marketplace and a piggybank,” Samsung said.

Meanwhile, Samsung Pay is revising the rewards program for the mobile payment service.

Samsung Rewards launched earlier in April, and on May 23, Samsung Pay users will be able to start purchasing rewards points, “similar to the way airline consumers can purchase extra miles in order to build up enough to kick-start their next adventure,” Samsung Pay said. “With Rewards points, consumers will not only get something more out of their purchases, they can also get a meaningful head start on their next mobile shopping experience.”