Seven years after Apple launched Apple Card, Samsung also officially entered the financial technology market, launching the new Samsung Galaxy Card on the Visa network in conjunction with Barclays Bank. This virtual-first credit card offers up to 5% cash back and comes with a black metal physical card made of an unknown material. All of the card's cashback rewards system will be managed in Samsung Wallet.
In terms of specific rebate rates, the Samsung Galaxy Card is designed to cover multiple consumption scenarios: 5% cash back on purchases of Samsung products; 3% cash back on any virtual purchases made through Samsung Wallet; 2% cash back on payments for streaming services; and 1% cash back on all other purchases.
By comparison, Apple's Apple Card system includes: up to 6% back through select partners like Nike; 3% back on purchases at Apple and select merchants like Ace Hardware, Booking, ChargePoint, ExxonMobil, Hertz, Uber, Uber Eats, Uber One and Walgreens; 2% back on all other purchases through Apple Pay; and 1% back on purchases made with a physical card or using a virtual card number through online purchases. of return. There’s also 3% cash back on purchases of any Apple product or service, including Apple Music or Apple One, or subscriptions paid through the App Store and Apple Pay, compared to 1% on other subscriptions like Netflix.
Although Samsung executives say the card and its features are just the beginning, signaling the company's desire to grab a piece of the financial technology pie, industry analysts believe it is difficult for the new card to pose substantial competition to Apple Card. It's almost impossible for Apple users to switch to a Samsung Galaxy phone for this card. Since Samsung Wallet is limited to Samsung's own devices and cannot cover the entire Android ecosystem like Google Wallet, and Samsung lacks a seamless fund management ecosystem like Apple's Daily Cash or Apple Savings Account, and the high 5% rebate is highly dependent on users frequently purchasing Samsung's own hardware products, its actual appeal has yet to be tested by the market.
Apple Card has been issued by Goldman Sachs since its launch in 2019. Apple is currently in the transition stage to a new card issuer. It may usher in further changes under new operations in the future, and Samsung’s move is more of a new exploration of the financial technology business within its own ecosystem.