LG to launch mobile payments service for flagship smartphone

LG Electronics plans to launch a mobile payments service for its new flagship smartphone G6 in South Korea in June following in the footsteps of smartphone leaders Samsung Electronics and Apple.

The South Korean company said on Wednesday it would start offering the new payments service, to be called LG Pay, through its G6 smartphones that are gaining popularity in its home market after their launch on March 10. The service will allow G6 users to make payments through existing credit card readers via a magnetic signal from the phone – a technology similar to Samsung Pay that was launched in August 2015.

LG’s move is aimed at catching up with Samsung and Apple, which are already offering the mobile payments service in more than 10 countries each to entice mobile users with differentiated premium service amid stiffer competition in the slowing global smartphone market.

LG said LG Pay will be available for only G6 users and would not be supported on other LG devices. It has no plans at the moment to expand the service to other markets as it requires extensive consultation with foreign credit card service providers. The company plans to launch the G6 smartphone in the US on April 7 and gradually release the new phone in other markets as it tries to expand its market share amid the delayed launch of Samsung’s new flagship phone, due on March 29.

The company’s shares rose 2.24 per cent to Won68,400 on Wednesday morning, jumping 33 per cent year to date on expectations of an earnings recovery in its mobile phone business.