There can never be enough competition in the mobile payment space, and LG is one of the most recent companies to join the fray. Despite facing stiff competition from Google, Samsung, Apple, and even Bitcoin, LG believes that they can offer something unique none of these other platforms can.
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LG Announces LG Pay, Albeit in Limited Fashion
Bringing mobile payment solutions to the general public is not an easy task, even for technology giants like LG. Although the mobile payment market is on the verge of becoming overcrowded, the company feels their LG Pay service has potential to be superior to other similar services available to customers right now.
However, there are some caveats to this story, as LG partnered with two South Korean credit card issuers hardly anyone will have ever heard of. Granted, Shinhan Card and KB Kookmin Card are major names in South Korea, but they have no reach whatsoever outside of the country.
On the other hand, this decision should not come as too big of a surprise, as LG is a South Korean company. It only makes sense that the consumer electronics giant wants to offer this new service in its home country first before expanding LG Pay to other countries around the world.
Furthermore, there are not too many details regarding the rollout of LG Pay, though it seems fair to assume a release in the US or Europe will not happen anytime soon. In this regard, LG Pay is not all that different from similar solutions such as Samsung Pay and Apple Pay, both of which are available in very few countries right now.
Last but not least, very few details have been revealed regarding the technical side of LG Pay. It remains to be seen whether or not this mobile payment service will use Bluetooth, NFC, or any other form of communication to complete payments. Additionally, whether or not the versions of the Android OS will be compatible with LG pay is also yet to be disclosed. More details are expected to be announced over the coming weeks.
Many industry experts worry how the mobile payment ecosystem is becoming more and more fractured as time progresses. There are so many different options available and having a choice is always positive for the consumer. However, none of these solutions can offer a complete package just yet, as they all rely on traditional financial infrastructure.
Bitcoin is A Universal Mobile Payment Solution
Unlike all of these mobile payment solutions – including LG Pay – Bitcoin is an option well worth considering for merchants. There is no additional infrastructure cost for the retailer, transaction fees are low, and payments are completed within mere seconds. More importantly, Bitcoin payments do not require third-party approval from financial institutions.
It will be interesting to see who comes out on top of this battle for mobile payment supremacy. Any payment method relying on credit cards or bank accounts sounds convenient on paper, yet they are faced with limited availability. Solutions like Bitcoin are available all over the world, yet there is still a lot of education left to be done.
What are your thoughts on LG Pay? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: Ars Technica
