LG has for a while now been rumoured to be working on its own mobile payments service to rival Samsung Pay, Apple Pay and Android Pay from Samsung, Apple and Google respectively. It might actually be on a path to be really different if what Korean media has spotted recently is anything to go by.
LG Pay may not function exactly like Google, Apple and Samsung’s services do. While those services rely on smartphones for payments to be made, LG is going with a real card. A plastic card. Or something like that. A multi-card replacer of sorts.
The card, which goes by the name White Card at the moment, features a low-power LCD display and two buttons that users will rely on to switch cards when making payments. The display is for letting the user know when the card is active. It has some metal pins that will be used for charging the card or come in handy when making transactions at an automated teller machine (ATM) since the LG Pay card is said to be capable of doing so.
This is a huge departure from the other services. We have seen Samsung try to differentiate itself from Apple Pay by supporting both legacy magnetic secure transmission (MST) terminals and newer terminals with near-field communication (NFC) support. Android Pay, on the other hand, is more of a platform as it is a service as it is open to developers to implement it in many other ways.
LG’s implementation, if it ever comes to light, means that one does not have to bank on carrying their smartphone with them so as to be able to make payments. Or being worried when their phones run out of charge just before they can make a payment.
LG may launch LG Pay and the White Card next month in Barcelona during Mobile World Congress.
