 |
Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Samsung Electronics will enable the use of Samsung Pay for public transportation in Japan starting next year, as part of a collaboration with East Japan Railway Company (JR East) to expand mobility and payment infrastructure for international visitors.
Under the partnership, Samsung Pay will be integrated into mobile services for inbound travelers, allowing users of Galaxy smartphones to access transportation and payment functions in Japan. The move is expected to significantly improve convenience for overseas Galaxy users, as Japan’s mobile transit payment ecosystem has largely been centered around Apple Pay.
JR East operates Suica, a prepaid transportation card widely used not only on trains and buses but also at convenience stores, vending machines, and other offline merchants. Through the collaboration, “Mobile Suica” will become available on Samsung Galaxy smartphones.
The service will be rolled out in the first half of 2027 for Galaxy devices released overseas. However, it will not be supported on models launched in South Korea or devices released before 2027.
The limitation stems from differences in near field communication (NFC) standards. Japan uses Sony’s FeliCa contactless payment technology, which offers faster processing speeds and is optimized for transit payments. FeliCa functionality will be embedded in Galaxy models released from 2027 onward.
Samsung Electronics said FeliCa capabilities are selectively enabled depending on country-specific firmware and certification requirements. Devices released in South Korea currently do not support the feature due to the absence of local certification and service agreements with Japanese operators.
With Samsung Pay integration, overseas Galaxy users will be able to access transportation and payment services immediately upon arrival in Japan without the need to issue a separate transit card.
AlphaBIZ Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
