New rule for 2017: every payment system must work everywhere, or at least be offered for every possible merchant. That seems to be the direction that Samsung would like to take, as a new Korean language site for the company has mentioned a different version of its digital payment system, dubbed "Samsung Pay Mini." This payment system would work with any cooperating online merchant, opening up Samsung Pay beyond standard brick-and-mortar transactions, and giving Samsung a lucrative slice of those transaction fees.

The mention of Pay Mini is on the Samsung Pay beta page, indicating that it's being prepared for a forthcoming build. The site also mentions "Bixby" in its drop-down menu, which is rumored to be Samsung's latest iteration of the digital voice assistant, ostensibly competing with Apple's Siri, Google's Assistant, and Amazon's Alexa. (Because there's nothing Samsung loves more than following a trend - we'll see how long it takes them to drop the headphone jack from its flagship phones in a couple of months.) The presence of Samsung Pay, Samsung Pay Mini, and "Bixby" on the same incomplete interface indicates a connection between the various services, but doesn't confirm one.

The Galaxy S8, due to drop sometime after Mobile World Congress next month if Samsung sticks to its spring-fall schedule for major phone releases, would be the natural platform to debut both of these services. That being said, there's a heavy dose of speculation here, and any number of issues could delay their release or sink the projects altogether.

Source: Samsung Pay beta (Korea)Via: SamMobile