Samsung Pay Launch In Spain Brings Competition To Bitcoin

Samsung Pay is one of the major players in the mobile payments industry these days. Even though there is a fierce competition going on in this market, it will eventually come down to which solution will gain the most support. CaixaBank is the first financial institution in Spain to roll out Samsung Pay to its customers. Whether or not this will be a threat to Bitcoin adoption, remains to be seen.

Also read: Going Cashless In Norway Means Giving Banks Complete Control

Spain Welcomes Samsung Pay

Even though there are major companies backing some of the most popular mobile payment solutions, market penetration will remain a critical point of focus. Tech giants like Google, Samsung, and Apple, are all vying to become the number one mobile payment solution in the world. Achieving that goal is not as easy as one would think, though.

Despite best efforts by all of these companies, none of these mobile payment solutions are available all over the world. Samsung Pay is no different in that regard, although their presence in Spain could be a sign of things to come for European customers. After all, not all of the focus in the mobile payment world should be in the US and Asia all the time.

Caixabank is not launching Samsung Pay directly, although the framework will be used to power the bank’s own mobile solution. Caixabank Pay – which will not win any awards for the most original name – was launched in September of 2015, and was meant to make consumers enthusiastic about the impending launch of Samsung Pay.

Thanks to a major promotional effort by Caixabank, the sales of Samsung products in Spain saw a healthy boost, most of which will be supporting Samsung Pay at some point in the future. The effective rollout of this new payment method will take place over the next few months although no official date has been confirmed at the time of publication.

Keeping in mind how Samsung Pay will be compatible with over 70% of all retail store locations in Spain, there is a large market waiting to be tackled by the tech giant. As a security precautions, customers will have to enter their PIN code for any purchase worth more than 20 EUR though.

Bitcoin Remains Popular In Spain

Even though the launch of Samsung Pay can be seen as a major competitor for Bitcoin, the popular digital currency is still gaining momentum in the country. With 18 Bitcoin ATMs available in Spain, there are plenty of opportunities for consumers to both buy and sell digital currency in exchange for fiat.

Furthermore, companies such as BTCpoint have made use of the Spanish bank network to created thousands of additional Bitcoin-enabled ATM devices in the country. This allows users to sell Bitcoin in exchange for fiat currency and withdraw the funds from any of the support ATMs. There is no need for a bank account or credit card to use this service.

Source: Finextra

Images credit 1,2,3

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