Samsung Pay enhances partnership with banks in Brazil

South Korea’s tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. has added Brazil’s major bank Itau Unibanco to the list of Samsung Pay partner banks in the South American country in a bid to attract more users to its mobile payment system.

As Itau Unibanco has joined the Samsung Pay club, the South Korean tech giant now has partnership with 12 local banks in the country, including Bradesco, Banco do Brasil, Santander and Caixa.

Google Pay currently provides its service through eight partner banks in Brazil, and Apple Pay with only one - Itau Unibanco.

Samsung Pay advanced into Brazil in July 2016, the first time for the Korean payment system to make an inroad in South America. It is now available at almost every store in the Latin American country as it works on both magnetic secure transmission (MST)-based card machines and near-field communication (NFC)-based systems.

Since it was first introduced in Korea in August 2015, the service has tapped into 20 other countries including the United States, China, Spain, Singapore, Australia, Brazil, Puerto Rico and Russia. As part of efforts to expand its global footprint, Samsung Electronics joined hands with the world’s leading online payment service provider Paypal Holdings Inc. in July last year.

Samsung Electronics and Itau Unibanco are planning to offer promotional perks and discount options under the slogan of “Let the Magic Happen” to celebrate the partnership.

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