Who Owns Samsung Wallet?

Samsung Electronics announced Samsung Pay in March 2015 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The service launched first in South Korea on August 20, 2015, alongside the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+. Samsung Pay reached the United States on September 28, 2015.

A defining feature at launch was magnetic secure transmission (MST), which Samsung acquired through its February 2015 purchase of LoopPay for approximately $250 million. MST allowed Samsung Pay to work with traditional magnetic stripe payment terminals that lacked NFC capability, which was critical in 2015 because most payment terminals in the United States and many other markets did not yet support contactless payments. Samsung Pay combined MST and NFC, giving it broader terminal compatibility than Apple Pay and Google Pay at the time.

Samsung Pay expanded rapidly across global markets. It launched in China in March 2016, Spain and Australia in June 2016, the United Kingdom in May 2017, and India in March 2017. By 2018, the service was available in over 20 countries. Samsung added features beyond payments, including loyalty cards, gift cards, transit passes, and digital keys for Samsung smart locks and cars.

In February 2022, at the Galaxy Unpacked event, Samsung announced that Samsung Pay would be rebranded as Samsung Wallet. The new Wallet app launched on June 24, 2022, in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. The rebrand combined Samsung Pay with Samsung Pass, adding support for digital keys, boarding passes, loyalty cards, and cryptocurrency assets. In South Korea, the app adopted the new Wallet features but retained the Samsung Pay name for several years before fully transitioning to Samsung Wallet.

Samsung Wallet expanded to Wear OS with the launch of the Galaxy Watch6 in August 2023, supporting tickets, loyalty cards, gift cards, and boarding passes on the wrist. Samsung gradually phased out MST support in devices released after 2021, as NFC terminal adoption became widespread globally and the MST advantage diminished.

Samsung Wallet marked its 10th anniversary in August 2025. The service had grown from 1.6 million users in its first year in South Korea to 18.66 million, an elevenfold increase. Annual transaction volume in South Korea reached KRW 88.6 trillion (approximately $63.6 billion) in 2024, up from KRW 3.6 trillion in 2016. Cumulative transaction volume reached approximately KRW 430 trillion. The app averaged 16.6 million launches per day in South Korea.

As of 2025, Samsung Wallet was available in approximately 61 countries through direct operations and partnerships with the Global Loyalty Network. Samsung has invested in AI-powered personalization features for the Wallet app, including spending insights and tailored offers.