After Apple launched its Pay service on July 14, Samsung is now eyeing the UK market with yet another smart payment service.

European MasterCard cardholders will be among the first users of Samsung pay, as the two companies have extended their global partnership leveraging the MasterCard Digital Enablement Service (MDES).

Nanda Kumar, SunTec CEO, told CBR: "Apple, Google and now Samsung are making traditional financial services providers review how they are delivering the customer experience which customers really wants.

"There is a fight to decide who will be the customer owner. However, the partnership between MasterCard and Samsung shows new disruptor from the technology industry still need support from the traditional players because Samsung at the moment lacks the credibility to offer standalone banking services to customers."

Samsung explained that its Pay solution is a mobile payment service that will enable consumers to use their Samsung flagship mobile devices to make every day in-store purchases at contactless and magnetic stripe terminals leveraging NFC and MST technologies.

The company added that European card issuers will be able to connect to the MDES platform and activate the Samsung Pay service upon launch.

Javier Perez, President of MasterCard Europe, said: "Europeans have been leading the way in the adoption of new ways to shop, buy and make a payment."

Kumar said: "It is a smart move by MasterCard because they are accepting there are innovative ways which can improve customer retention. However, new partnerships between the old and new guard in the financial services cannot happen unless there is technology which acts as a middle layer to connect customer experience to service delivery.

"For banks, they should keep an eye on what is new in the market but more importantly, they must focus on their core banking systems which holds all the useful customer information because without that, new technology will not improve the financial circumstances of their customers."

The CEO added that to win, being efficient and transparent when offering new technology is key to keeping customers happy.

Parker Crockford, VP of Sales and Marketing at Judo Payments, said: "Consumers increasingly expect painless payments and in the UK are also spending nearly £10bn on their commutes alone – it’s clear that the future is mobile."