Don’t think there’s already enough killer reasons to queue up for the Samsung Galaxy S3 when it launches on May 29th? How’s about NFC payments? Visa and Samsung have just announced that they are pairing up to bring contactless payments to the new king of Android. Well, kind of…
The deal makes the Galaxy S3 Samsung’s official phone of the 2012 Olympics. What does that mean exactly? It means that a specially-made, limited edition version of the Galaxy S3 will be fitted with Visa’s payWave technology, allowing sponsored athletes and trialists access to over 140,000 UK paypoints.
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“Mobile payment services enabled by NFC technology are gaining momentum around the world,” says Samsung Mobile’s Executive VP DJ Lee. “The Samsung Galaxy S3 has been created with our human needs and capabilities in mind and is the ideal device to showcase the ease and convenience of Visa’s mobile payment application at the London 2012 Olympic Games.”
Meanwhile, Sandra Alzetta, Senior VP of mobile at Visa Europe, assures us that “the future is mobile.” She claims that “cash usage will only continue to decline as people use their mobile devices to manage their money, shop and pay.” This deal will aim to help spread that message.
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So what does this mean for anyone not taking part in the trial, but still want to get themselves a Galaxy S3? Here’s the bad news: nothing. We’ve spoken to Samsung and confirmed that the built-in payWave tech will only feature in the trial devices, which means that there’ll be no contactless payment love for normal Galaxy S3 handsets.
In other words? Think of it more of a showy sign of things to come, then a full on NFC roll-out.
