Today, Samsung launched Samsung Pay, an innovative digital wallet, for Thailand’s full transition into a cashless society.

In line with the Thai government’s national e-payment strategy, Samsung Pay staged its official launch today in the presence of its partners from both government and private sectors. Leading financial institutes and merchants were also in attendance to demonstrate that Samsung Pay is simple, secure and almost anywhere.

Since its early access release in the Thai market in October 2016, consumers in Thailand have warmly welcomed Samsung Pay. Samsung is excited to announce its official country-wide expansion, bringing Samsung Pay to many more Thai consumers.

“More than three months ago, we introduced Samsung Pay early access to the Thai market, giving people a mobile payment solution that is simple, secure and almost anywhere,” said Wichai Pornpratang, Vice President of IT and Mobile Communications at Thai Samsung Electronics. “During this pivotal phase, Samsung Pay has aligned with many notable partners. From the financial sector are MasterCard, Visa, KCC, Bangkok Bank, Citibank, KasikornBank, KTC and Siam Commercial Bank. Department stores and shops across Thailand have also supported Samsung Pay.Aside from compatible credit cards, the Galaxy Gift Prepaid Card by MasterCard, as well as a wide variety of distinguished membership cards, can be added to Samsung Pay for convenience upon checkout. As a result, Samsung Pay services have won a warm welcome from consumers. Thais have recognized it as a convenient and safe mode of payment. With Samsung Pay, they don’t need to carry cash or credit cards, minimizing their risk of theft. Moreover, we hope that Samsung Pay will play a big role in transforming Thailand in line with its national e-payment strategy. Our innovation will revolutionize Thais’ way of spending and usher them towards a cashless society.”

“We are very excited to be introducing Samsung Pay to the Thai market, as we strive to continue to deliver a robust payment platform and digital wallet to consumers around the world,” said Thomas Ko, Vice President of Samsung Pay. “As we did in other markets, we have taken a customized approach with our launch in Thailand, working with key partners to make quick and secure mobile payments a reality. We look forward to making our Thai consumers’ everyday lives as simple, convenient and seamless as possible through the introduction of Samsung Pay.”

Samsung Pay, an innovative mobile payment service, boasts three strengths:

1. Simple – Following registration, users can easily choose a payment card from their smartphone, use their fingerprint to validate their identity and tap their device on a payment terminal. Making a payment is as easy as that.

2. Secure – Tokenization is in place to protect users’ credit-card data, with digital identifiers or “tokens” generated to replace sensitive payment information for every Samsung Pay transaction. Additional security is provided through fingerprint authentication and Samsung Knox, which protects the device at both the hardware and software levels.

3. Almost Anywhere – Because Samsung Pay is compatible with MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) technology – the most widely-used credit card payment technology in Thailand – as well as NFC (Near Field Communication), any place of business that accepts credit card payments can also accept Samsung Pay. Users can add up to 10 payment cards to their Samsung Pay account. They can continue to enjoy the privileges and benefits their cards offer, without having to carry them around.

Including Thailand, ten markets around the world can now benefit from the simplicity, security and convenience of Samsung Pay. The service has successfully continued its expansion into Asia, with additional launches in Korea, China and Singapore, as well as Australia. With broader availability throughout the region, Samsung aims to continue delivering a robust payment platform and digital wallet to consumers around the world.

* Availability almost anywhere is based on compatibility of Samsung Pay on MST and/or NFC payment terminals, with some supported for use only after software upgrades. Samsung Pay is exclusive to selected Samsung Galaxy smartphones only, and available across all participating payment networks, banks, and merchants. Availability may vary, please visit http://www.samsung.com/samsungpay/ to learn more.

** Samsung Pay is compatible with select cards, Samsung devices, and leading wireless providers. Visit http://www.samsung.com/samsungpay/ to learn more. Some card reader terminals may require software updates to be compatible with Samsung Pay.