Samsung launches PayPal integration for in-app, online and in-store payments with Samsung Pay

Samsung Electronics today announced expanded partnership with PayPal to make it possible for customers to make in-app, online and in-store purchases with PayPal as a payment method within Samsung Pay. Access to PayPal will be available for all Samsung Pay users in the United States and will expand to other countries soon, the company said.

“Users simply add their PayPal account to Samsung Pay, and can then spend the balance anywhere Samsung Pay is accepted,” said a Samsung executive. Users will benefit from Samsung Pay’s services like gift cards, and membership and loyalty programs.

The move will open up PayPal to millions of stores, PayPal noted.

“This partnership will give our customers the ability to pay with mobile almost anywhere consumers can swipe or tap a credit card,” said the Korean firm.

As a bonus, merchants will even be able to accept Samsung Pay as a method of payment in-app and online through Braintree Direct, a PayPal service. Samsung Pay works in almost any in-store POS location in the United States.

The PayPal integration with Samsung Pay is supported on select Samsung phones, including Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. Last week, PayPal announced expanded Apple ID integration allowing customers in additional countries to set up PayPal as a payment method for App Store, iTunes Store and iBooks Store purchases.

Unlike Apple Pay which works with NFC point-of-sale systems, Samsung Pay supports both NFC terminals and those using traditional Magnetic Secure Transmission technology that lets it replicate a card swipe and work nearly anywhere that payment cards are accepted.

“Thanks to Samsung’s advanced technology, Samsung Pay is the most widely-accepted mobile payment platform in the market and works almost anywhere you can swipe or tap a card today,” said the company. “Now, with the integration of the PayPal wallet, customers can use Samsung Pay in the most convenient ways possible.”

Samsung Pay is now available in 18 markets.

A Boston Retail Partners survey on mobile payments ranked Apple Pay first in the United States as having the largest percentage of merchants, with 36 percent accepting the technology, up from 16 percent the year before.

PayPal was a close second with 34 percent acceptance, followed by MasterCard PayPass (25 percent), Android Pay (24 percent), Visa Checkout (20 percent), Samsung Pay (18 percent), Chase Pay (11 percent) and private label mobile wallets with four percent.

PayPal previously said its popular payment system would work with Android Pay to support both mobile payments in apps and those in brick-and-mortar retailers.