​Samsung Pay adds shopping and rewards services in Korea

Samsung Pay users can now directly purchase products from local online shopping malls in South Korea on the payment service’s app, Samsung Electronics has announced.

Users don’t need to subscribe or log in to respective shopping mall sites separately while connected to their Samsung account, making it more convenient for online shoppers, the company said.

The South Korean tech giant has partnered with local shopping malls Gmarket, The Hyundai, Wizwid, Samsung Card, Mobile Coupang Mall, Hellolink, and Picnic to launch Samsung Pay Shopping, it said.

Samsung Pay’s magazine service Lifestyle will be upgraded to add content on life, fashion, beauty, celebrity, and automobiles. Consumers can buy directly from the magazine’s catalogue.

Samsung Rewards, a points program that counts online and offline payments, has also launched. Those who buy using Samsung Pay Shopping will earn 2 percent of the transaction every time as points.

A membership card for Rewards will launch by the end of the month, allowing consumers to use the points in both online and offline partnered retailers.

Samsung first announced the update last month when it said it was planning Samsung Pay Mini for Android phones.