A recently discovered subsection of the Samsung Pay website indicates Samsung is likely planning to add new beta functionality to its mobile payments platform in the near future.
A drop down menu found on the Samsung Pay beta website includes references to features called “Shopping,” “Mini” and “Bixby.”
Samsung Pay Mini, according to SamMobile, is a stripped down version of the company’s mobile payments platform that will reportedly allow users to pay for goods and services offered online.
Bixby, meanwhile, is the codename of Samsung’s next generation personal assistant. Developed by Viv Labs, the startup made up of former Apple engineers Samsung acquired in October 2016, the app will reportedly launch alongside the Galaxy S8. Its appearance on a webpage dedicated to Samsung Pay suggests Bixby will allow users to send peer-to-peer payments using the two platforms.
For instance, S8 users could use the functionality to ask Bixby to send the money to a friend or family member.
It’s unclear when Samsung will start testing this functionality, though a company executive confirmed late last year that the S8 will launch with a new personal assistant.
Should the company follow its usual release cadence, Samsung is expected to release the S8 sometime after Mobile World Congress, which is scheduled to start on February 27th and end on March 2nd.
[source]Samsung Korea[/source][via]Samsung Mobile[/via]
