Electronics manufacturer Samsung agreed yesterday to acquire US-based mobile wallet technology producer LoopPay for an undisclosed amount, providing exits to payment services provider Visa and industrial conglomerate General Electric.
LoopPay’s technology allows magnetic stripe card readers to be converted into mobile contactless receivers. Its digital wallet can store and use a range of cards from credit and debit cards to gift and loyalty cards.
Visa made its investment in LoopPay in July 2014, following a similarly undisclosed amount of funding provided by GE subsidiary Synchrony Financial. LoopPay had raised $10m in 2013 from undisclosed angel investors.
Samsung revealed in a statement announcing the acquisition that it had also invested money in LoopPay last year, in a deal facilitated by its Global Innovation Center.
Post-acquisition, co-founders Will Graylin and George Wallner will work with Samsung’s Mobile Division, harnessing the corporate’s mobile expertise and resources to further develop LoopPay’s mobile wallet technology.
JK Shin, head of Samsung Electronics’ IT and Mobile Division, said: “This acquisition accelerates our vision to drive and lead innovation in the world of mobile commerce. Our goal has always been to build the smartest, most secure, user-friendly mobile wallet experience, and we are delighted to welcome LoopPay to take us closer to this goal.”