Samsung plans to take on Apple Card and Wallet in the USA

Samsung and Apple are fierce rivals in the smartphone market. However, as hardware innovation stagnates, the companies are focusing on enhancing their ecosystems to attract customers. The South Korean firm is reportedly planning to challenge Apple Card and Apple Wallet, aiming to provide a superior experience for existing Galaxy smartphone users.

Samsung could launch a credit card in the USA, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The report claims that Samsung is in talks with British bank Barclays to launch a credit card to rival Apple Card. The credit card could use Visa's payments network and could offer cashback benefits to users. That cashback could be transferred to a Samsung Account and used when buying Samsung (or other partner) products.

In addition to the credit card, Samsung is planning to bring other financial products, including digital prepaid accounts, high-yield deposit accounts, and an improved Buy Now, Pay Later offering. The South Korean firm is doing all this to improve the adoption of Samsung Wallet, its mobile payments system that rivals Apple Pay.

All these finance offerings could boost user spending and sales of Samsung's home appliances, phones, TVs, and more. The partnership between Barclays and Samsung hasn't been finalized yet, as talks have taken longer than expected. However, the report expects a formal announcement to be made before the end of this year.

Samsung held similar talks with financial companies regarding a similar setup in 2018 but financial institutions were skeptical of its success. Now, the South Korean firm is close to launching its credit card. It already has similar offerings in India and South Korea.

Apple launched Apple Card in 2019 through a partnership with Goldman Sachs and Mastercard. It offers unlimited 2% cashback when paying through Apple Pay, unlimited 3% cashback at partner merchants, and interest-free installments when buying Apple devices. However, Goldman Sachs is said to be incurring huge losses, and Apple Card operations could be switched to JPMorgan Chase.