Samsung has announced that it will launch a Samsung Pay debit card with year in partnership with SoFi, a North American fintech company whose main products are personal loans, investing, mortgages, and banking (via Android Central).
Coming this year, Samsung said in a press release that it has “been busy developing a mobile-first money management platform. Our vision is to help consumers better manage their money so that they can achieve their dreams and goals.”
It goes on to say that “this summer Samsung in partnership with SoFi will introduce a new Samsung Pay experience with an innovative debit card backed by a cash management account.” This makes sense given Sofi currently offers a money management product, and means Samsung wants to help people manage their money on a debit card platform, rather than just spend it.
It’s comparable to Apple Card but that service is a credit card, not a debit card. Apple partnered with Goldman Sachs to lend its service an air of exclusivity, whereas Samsung Pay is opting to go with a Silicon Valley fintech company that professes to be about helping you manage money better.
This appears to be a US-only service. Samsung Pay is popular in the US as it supports MST swipe terminals, making it more useful in some regions compared to Apple Pay. Samsung said that its existing Samsung Pay app would continue to work as normal after the launch.
Author: Henry Burrell, Phones Editor
Henry is Tech Advisor’s Phones Editor, ensuring he and the team covers and reviews every smartphone worth knowing about for readers and viewers all over the world. He spends a lot of time moving between different handsets and shouting at WhatsApp to support multiple devices at once.