Payments giant MasterCard has announced that it will cooperate with Samsung on a biometrics-enabled mobile payment system the South Korean smartphone manufacturer is launching.

MasterCard says that it is extending a global partnership with Samsung that leverages its MasterCard Digital Enablement Service (MDES) to deliver Samsung Pay in Europe.

This means that European card issuers will be able to connect to the MDES platform and activate the Samsung Pay service upon launch. Cardholders can activate their credit, debit, reloadable prepaid and small business cards from participating issuers in the Samsung Pay service and use their mobile devices to make everyday purchases.

Earlier this year, MasterCard announced it would provide the tokenisation services to Samsung Pay for its secure transactions, enabling a quick scaling connection to bank partners in the US.

Samsung Pay is scheduled to launch in the US and South Korea later this summer and Samsung is currently working with banks and partners to bring the payment service to Europe.

“Samsung Pay is pleased to join forces with MasterCard to offer a simple and safe mobile payment experience enabled for wider merchant acceptance to MasterCard cardholders and issuers in Europe,” said Injong Rhee, EVP of Samsung Electronics, Global Head of Samsung Pay. “Both organisations are committed to ground breaking fintech innovations that will deliver on the promise of a true mobile wallet.”

“With the continued global growth and reliance on connected mobile devices, we are delighted to expand our relationship with Samsung by extending the reach of Samsung Pay and MDES to cardholders in Europe. Europeans have been leading the way in the adoption of new ways to shop, buy and make a payment. Through our strong partnership with Samsung we look forward to continuing to drive innovation in mobile commerce by creating simple and secure digital payment experiences for consumers,” said Javier Perez, President of MasterCard Europe.