Samsung and SoFi outline plan for their own Mastercard

via AltFi

Later this summer Samsung will follow Apple’s lead into the world of payment cards with the launch of its own branded e-money account.

Working in partnership with SoFi, Samsung Money as it’s called will essentially offer a “higher interest” e-money account with cashback perks for shopping in certain stores.

What makes this different from Samsung’s existing mobile wallet Pay, which lets you add other bank cards to your Galaxy smartphone, is that Samsung Money comes with its own virtual and physical Mastercard debit card.

Just like Apple Card, this will all be managed from your Samsung smartphone but, unlike Apple Card, it doesn’t sound like Samsung Money will offer any credit… for now at least.

Beyond these details Samsung Money operates much as you’ve come to expect from digital banking services in 2020. You can check balances, search transactions, freeze your card, change your PIN and more all from the app.

What makes Samsung Money different from other digital banking services is obviously that it will come bundled with millions of Samsung smartphones once it launches (and possibly added to existing Samsung smartphones via software updates).

“At SoFi, we’re committed to helping people achieve financial independence both directly through the SoFi brand, as well as indirectly, through partnering with leading brands like Samsung to help the world get their money right,” said Anthony Noto, CEO of SoFi, on the news.

For now Samsung only says that Samsung Money will be available in the US.