The smartphone and consumer electronics manufacturer has now entered into the rapidly growing market.
In a market already rapidly filling up with Apple Pay, Android Pay and other large names of mobile payments options, LG has now unveiled its own option after having partnering with South Korean credit card companies KB Kookmin Card and Shinhan Card.
The companies have worked together to create a smartphone based payment system that will first launche in South Korea.
While the mobile payments service will be available exclusively in South Korea at its initial launch, it is unclear as to whether or not the service will move to an international market. At the moment, no date has been set for taking that kind of step outside the country.
There are currently many different types of technologies being used in order to complete payment transactions through the use of mobile devices. The two giants, Apple Pay and Android Pay, have both based their services on near field communication (NFC technology). At the same time, Samsung is using magnetic secure transmission (MST) that is comparable to the magnetic strip on a credit card.
LG mobile payments have not yet announced the type of technology that it will be using to complete transactions.
A growing number of retailers are starting to update their point of sale terminals in order to be more compatible with some of the top technologies being used for payments through mobile devices. It is likely that LG will choose a more established technology in order to ensure that it will be able to be compatible with the point of sale devices that are already in place now that its predecessors have paved the way for the use of mobile technology at the checkout counter.
The mobile payments space is one that has seen considerable controversy over the last few years as many believe in it, while others feel that it will never take off in the mainstream. A new study conducted by Research Now indicated that 51 percent of consumers would prefer to use a wallet app issued by their own financial institution as opposed to a third party such as Apple Pay, Android Pay or LG Pay. The next years will clearly be defining within this sector of the tech market.
According to the authors of the report, “Among mobile holiday shoppers, 40.9 percent will use a smartphone only, 40.0 percent will use both a smartphone and a tablet, and 19.1 percent will use a tablet only to research/shop for holiday products and gifts.” They also went on to underscore their discovery that throughout the holiday season, 60.4 percent of mobile shoppers between the ages of 18 and 34 years will use a smartphone as their exclusive device for shopping behaviors at this time of year.