LG is reportedly exploring MST technology for its next smartphone … but why?

News out of Korea today suggests that LG is exploring the inclusion of MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) in its next flagship phone rumoured for launch next year. In a move that can only be seen as a bit questionable, it follows Samsung’s moves to include MST in its more recently flagships which is used by Samsung Pay to allow payment at older terminals which might not support NFC.

In Australia, Samsung Pay has been anything but a roaring success, with few banks on board, and even fewer likely to join any time soon. With the success of Android Pay, the relatively large number of banks and financial institutions supporting it, one must wonder whether there really is a market for competing payment solutions from specific vendors … and this makes LG’s move even more bizarre.

In other markets, where LG might have success in signing up powerful banking partners, the inclusion of MST in an LG Pay product would be a great idea, increasing the number of places where such a payment technology could be used. In Australia, though, where NFC terminals are everywhere, and banks are reluctant to sign up with vendor-specific platforms, I just don’t see that we’ll even SEE LG Pay, much less be able to use it much.

In a market where Samsung and even Apple can’t get major banks on board, I don’t know what hope LG has. Android Pay is the best solution we’ve seen for mobile payments, and frankly, LG are mad to be putting their energies into something like LG Pay, when they could instead focus their energies on making a killer smartphone that sells better than the LG G5.