LoopPay

LoopPay, also known by its alias LoopPay, is a United States‑based technology company that develops magnetic secure transmission (MST) solutions enabling smartphones to emulate traditional magnetic stripe cards for contactless payments. The company’s core product is the MST hardware and software stack that integrates with mobile wallets, allowing devices to transmit payment data to existing point‑of‑sale terminals without requiring NFC upgrades. LoopPay’s technology has been licensed to major mobile payment platforms, most notably providing the underlying transmission method for Samsung Pay in the United States. By focusing on MST, LoopPay serves the broader mobile payments market, targeting consumers and merchants who rely on legacy card‑reading infrastructure. The firm’s offerings are designed to work with a wide range of smartphones and point‑of‑sale systems, supporting both in‑store and online payment scenarios.

LoopPay’s distinguishing attribute lies in its specialization in magnetic secure transmission, a niche that bridges older magnetic stripe technology with modern mobile payment ecosystems, setting it apart from competitors that rely solely on near‑field communication. The company’s technical expertise in embedding secure transmission cores into device firmware has been recognized as a key enabler for Samsung Pay’s U.S. launch, highlighting its role as a critical supplier in the mobile payments supply chain. Structurally, the Massachusetts‑based subsidiary that suffered the 2015 breach was the unit responsible for delivering the MST intellectual property to Samsung Pay, indicating that LoopPay maintains a dedicated development arm focused on the technology’s implementation and security. The 2015 incident, in which Chinese state‑affiliated hackers accessed the subsidiary’s network to target MST IP, underscored the high value attackers place on LoopPay’s proprietary technology, even though the breach did not affect payment systems or consumer data according to the company’s statements. Following the breach, LoopPay and Samsung asserted prompt containment and no impact on services, while security experts warned that the attackers’ known tactics of installing backdoors could pose long‑term risks if not fully eradicated. These facts together illustrate LoopPay’s position as a specialized provider of MST solutions, its strategic importance to major mobile payment platforms, and the heightened security considerations surrounding its intellectual property.