back to article Samsung buys LoopPay ... to be better at bonking than Apple

Just as rumours that Samsung is about to move into the mobile payments space at next week’s Mobile World Congress were reaching their peak, the South Korean firm announced the acquisition of LoopPay. The LoopPay technology uses Magnetic Secure Transmission technology to turn point-of-sale terminals where you'd normally swipe a …

  1. kisnet

    are you sure you guys do not maybe mean banking in stead of bonking LOL!!

    1. diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

      Re: kisnet

      Nope, bonking. When you wave your NFC phone over a till or some other payment system, and you bump the device against it. Bonking. What were you thinking of?

      C.

    2. NoneSuch Silver badge

      Keep the tech Samsung. I get gouged enough by my banks service charges, fees and exchange rates. Don't think I'm going to add another hand in my pocket.

      Any fee paid to Samsung to use their service will be billed back to me with additional fees in time. So as I say. Keep it.

      1. Phil W

        It wouldn't be that surprising for it to be free, the benefit to Samsung is in it being a selling point for the device.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Another mag stripe dead-end?

    From the description, this is just a means of enabling a smartphone case to emulate the magnetic stripe on a credit card, not a direct equivalent of NFC/PayWave/etc. If so, WTF use is it going to be outside of the backwater POS infrastructure used in the USA? And even there they're gradually being dragged towards Chip & PIN.

    1. Kirk Northrop

      Re: Another mag stripe dead-end?

      Yep, pretty much. It is contactless because the loop pay thing emits a magnetic field strong enough for the traditional mag stripe reader to detect.

      Now to me this means Samsung have bought a complete pup, based on a major hack of outdated technology. What an investment!

    2. Mike Bell

      Re: Another mag stripe dead-end?

      Gradually being dragged towards Chip & PIN? In the US, retailers have only 7 months left to upgrade to Chip & PIN. After that, they're exposing themselves to much greater liability for fraudulent purchases.

      Samsung's acquisition may be of use in other parts of the world, but it's a dead duck in the US, surely?

  3. This post has been deleted by its author

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    This is totally insecure!

    Swipe readers read the contents of your mag stripe, which contains UNENCRYPTED credit card info. By sending it at a high enough power to do contactless reading it would be easy for someone with the right equipment to skim your credit card number, name, expiration and other information saved on the stripe. In reality it wouldn't be worth building a reader for this unless it becomes popular. If Samsung is dumb enough to put it in their phones and it actually gets used, that will all change.

    Looppay claims it is "Magnetic Secure Technology" but from what their web site says it is "secure" because the app is protected by a password/PIN and the card numbers are encrypted on the phone. They gloss over the huge security issue their technology opens up. I guess rather than follow Apple in using EMV, a secure worldwide standard that will become the default for all credit cards, Samsung is trying to be different and support the insecure cards of the past - and make them even more insecure! Nice job, Samsung.

  5. Craigness

    Loo

    Loo Pay! Spend your money a penny at a time.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Loo

      Kind of a crappy name for Britain, India, etc...

  6. jonathanb Silver badge

    Mag stripe compatibility has more than twice the penetration?

    In technologically backward countries like the USA maybe, but try presenting a mag-stripe card in a shop in Europe and you will get some strange looks.

  7. DesktopGuy

    Will work till the end of this year in the US

    Mag stripe data!

    Most developed counties already use EVM (chip and pin) so this is dead in the water.

    Even the US will be requiring EVM later this year.

    That's why the timing of ApplePay launching in the US is so good.

    After the cutoff, retailers will be responsible and liable for any fraudulent transactions taken over mag stripe.

    Now if Apple would only get off their ass and get ApplePay working in Australia.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Will work till the end of this year in the US

      "Most developed counties already use EVM (chip and pin) so this is dead in the water."

      Yet in our local megastore's express shop, when my chip doesn't want to play with the terminal, there's a slot on the side and it tells me to swipe my card...............how out of date Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose etc must be to still have mag stripe facilities in this day and age, it's a wonder they are still so successful

      1. jonathanb Silver badge

        Re: Will work till the end of this year in the US

        And when you swipe it, it tells you that you must use the chip, so basically the slot is there for American tourists to use.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    This won't work in Europe anyway - the cards and configured such that if they have a chip on then it must be used.

    I suspect Samsung will continue to support Europe via the NFC tech they already have built in and use this for "backwards compatibility" in the US for the time being...

    1. Charles 9

      Then they'll work because the phones WON'T have a Chip, meaning it's the stripe or bust.

      And since I don't see any smartphone sporting an EMV chip anytime soon, it seems it's either this or contactless going forward.

  9. Valerion
    WTF?

    Looppay? More like Loopy!

    So I have to buy a special case - for $59.95?? Why the hell would I do that? Are these people mad? Who is going to buy one of these?!

    If it's embedded in the phone a-la Apple Pay then people will use it. If they have to pay extra, they won't. This is using outdated, insecure technology and people have to outlay a not insignificant sum to use it. Mag stripe is dead and gone. This will be too within 2-3 years.

    Then they have the gall to say "yes, but we work at 90% of all retail locations!". Yeah, and cash works at pretty much 100%, so what's your point?

    Well done Samsung. Trying to get out of the "copycat" label just got a lot harder.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The point was that you can't use iPay at the majority of locations. Safari probably doesn't render that information properly. I imagine Apple users only get to see a couple of icons, and an infographic, when reading an article.

    1. Seanie Ryan

      WTF???

      "The point was that you can't use iPay at the majority of locations. Safari probably doesn't render that information properly. I imagine Apple users only get to see a couple of icons, and an infographic, when reading an article."

      what the hell is that about? i read it about 6 times now and have no clue what you are saying? Whats safari got to do with it? Weird.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: WTF???

        You are Alistair Dabbs, and I cliam my £5.

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