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Samsung starts testing its Apple Pay rival in Korea

Samsung starts testing its Apple Pay rival in Korea

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Samsung Pay, the mobile payments service announced alongside the Galaxy S6, is getting closer. The company is inviting select S6 and S6 Edge owners in Korea to participate in the first public trial of Samsung Pay before a wider rollout kicks off in the coming weeks. Samsung Pay combines NFC, which is used by Apple Pay and Google Wallet, with technology that the company picked up with its acquisition of LoopPay. This allows Samsung's phones to communicate with magnetic stripe card readers, making Samsung Pay instantly compatible with most payment terminals you'll find at retailers today.

Apple Pay is already gaining incredible momentum and starting its international expansion, so the effortless support for Samsung's solution is important if the company hopes to produce a worthy rival. Last month, Samsung said that we likely wouldn't be seeing Samsung Pay until September. But this test in Korea may indicate that a bigger rollout is coming soon, and with the Galaxy Note 5 launch rumored for next month, there's a prime opportunity right around the corner.