Mastercard teams with Samsung Pay in India

By Kate Fitzgerald March 24, 2017, 1:33 p.m. EDT 1 Min Read

Mastercard and Samsung India have partnered to roll out Samsung Pay to millions of customers of Indian banks.

Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI Bank and Standard Chartered are among the first wave of Mastercard-issuing banks to support Samsung Pay’s launch in India, the companies said in a press release.

To spark usage, Mastercard will add rewards for customers using Samsung Pay at India outlets of Café Coffee Day, Barista and Pizza Hut, Mastercard said in the release, adding that its move to support Samsung Pay aligns with the Indian government’s moves to reduce citizens’ heavy use of cash. India’s prime minister in late 2016 demonetized the most commonly used bills in India, which in turn has sparked a rise in mobile and digital payments in the nation.

“Today’s announcement brings us a step forward in the Indian government’s cashless payments roadmap,” said Porush Singh, Mastercard’s division president for South Asia, in the release.

Samsung Pay will be immediately available in India on most Galaxy devices, the companies said.

Samsung Pay app — An employee demonstrates Samsung Electronics Co.'s Samsung Pay application on a Galaxy Note 7 smartphone with stylus during a media event in Seoul, South Korea, on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. Samsung's large-screen Galaxy Note 7 smartphone can be unlocked with an iris-scanning camera. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

Kate Fitzgerald

Senior Editor, Payments

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.

MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER

Treasury Department

Bessent to be Treasury nominee, Trump taps Turner for HUD

Hedge fund manager Scott Bessent had been the betting favorite to take the reins at Treasury. Scott Turner, a former congressman and NFL player, will lead the housing agency.

By Kyle Campbell

November 22
Artificial intelligence

Fed's Bowman: Regulators 'must have an openness' to AI

While the risks, benefits and magnitude of artificial intelligence's impact on financial services remain unclear, agencies should keep an open mind toward the technology and avoid reflexive risk aversion in bank supervision, Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman said.

By John Heltman

November 22
Succession planning

First Foundation's new CEO has history of priming banks to sell

The Dallas bank's new CEO, Thomas Shafer, served in top roles at a number of banks that were subsequently acquired before he stepped away from the industry in 2022.

By Catherine Leffert

November 22
Federal Reserve

Fed: Elevated asset valuations could threaten financial stability

In its latest financial stability report, the Federal Reserve warned high equity valuations and low levels of liquidity could leave the financial system vulnerable to shocks.

By Kyle Campbell

November 22
SBA

A small-dollar business lending scheme finds a niche at Huntington

The Columbus, Ohio-based regional launched Lift Local Business in October 2020 with a $25 million ceiling. Four years and $133 million later, the program is still going strong.

By John Reosti

November 22
Payments

JPMorgan Chase, Mastercard sell crypto-style B2B payment tech

The bank and payment company are using the technology that underpins digital assets to improve interoperability for international transactions, a major point of friction in trade finance.

By John Adams

November 22