Russia bars Samsung from selling smartphones with Samsung Pay, here’s why

Samsung is the biggest name when it comes to smartphones in Russia, with a third of the mobile market share there. Unfortunately, that position is now under threat, as a Russian court has stopped Samsung from importing and selling 61 different models of smartphones in Russia.

This comes as a result of a lawsuit filed by the Swiss company SQWIN SA over Samsung Pay. SQWIN SA claims that Samsung Pay infringes on their patent over electronic payment systems, which in turn was registered in Russia. SQWIN SA is a financial and mobile payment company offering the SQWIN Pay system, their own NFC and QR-based wireless payment system. A quick search finds two different patents by SQWIN SA in Russia, both regarding electronic payment systems which are RU2686003C2 and RU2644128C2.

As for which 61 Samsung smartphones specifically that have been banned, it was not mentioned, however it is likely to cover all of Samsung’s devices that support Samsung Pay. On the Samsung Russia website, its Samsung Pay webpage currently lists 64 supported smartphones, starting from the latest Galaxy Z Fold 3 all the way to devices from 2016. It is understood that Samsung is currently appealing the decision. Curiously, since the announcement of the ban, SQWIN SA has been review bombed on Google by seemingly angry Russians.

The Russian court’s decision to ban these smartphones actually come following an earlier appeal from SQWIN SA. They had originally filed the lawsuit earlier this year, with the court reaching a decision in July albeit without stating any Samsung smartphone models affected. SQWIN then appealed in August, resulting in the banning of these 61 Samsung devices. Nevertheless, with Samsung themselves appealing the ban, it’s not totally over just yet for the Korean giant in Russia.

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