Samsung takes mobile payments fight to Apple

Sydney

SMARTPHONE leader Samsung Electronics has for years been a spectator as Apple built a services "ecosystem" supporting its products. But now, as the two develop the market for mobile payments, the South Korean tech giant is taking the fight to its US arch-rival.

For Apple, offering users the ability to tap their iPhones on sales terminals to buy a coffee, snack or train ticket is a fresh revenue stream, such as its iTunes music and entertainment service. The banks it works with cough up a small charge for each transaction - reportedly 0.15 per cent in the United States.