Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) said its prepaid payment service, Samsung Wallet Money and Points, has surpassed 3 million users one year after launch. The company credits a strategy that lets customers earn points without minimum prior-month spending or reward caps and spend them immediately like cash. Samsung plans to expand overseas payment capabilities and usage-based benefits to build Samsung Wallet into an everyday payment platform.
Samsung Electronics said on the 22nd that users of Samsung Wallet Money and Points had passed 3 million. Launched in October last year, the service lets customers preload money into Samsung Wallet, pay with it and earn points. It drew 1 million users within two months of launch before reaching 3 million in a year.
The company pointed to the removal of complex reward conditions as a key driver of growth. Points accrue regardless of how much a customer spent the previous month, and there is no cap on accumulation. The service can be used at all domestic merchants, and accumulated points can be spent like cash starting with the next purchase.
Samsung is also segmenting its benefits as the user base grows. Since the 20th, the company has been rolling out app updates that add a tiered points program and overseas payment functions. The tiers are divided into four levels: Solar, Luna, Sky and Young. The Young tier, for customers aged 14 to 29, offers an additional 3% in points on payments. Solar and Luna members receive gift discount coupons and instant-win sweepstakes entries on a differentiated basis. The app's benefits tab is also adding 14 mini-games through which users can earn points.
From the 27th, customers making their first payment with Money will receive 5,000 points, with prizes including the Galaxy Z Fold 8 awarded by drawing. Customers paying overseas will earn an additional 2.5% in points. Chae Won-chul, executive vice president of Samsung Electronics' MX Business, said the company will expand the Samsung Wallet ecosystem across a wider range of everyday touchpoints at home and abroad.
