Samsung’s payment service is now available for customers of CaixaBank and its Imaginbank unit, with more local partners to follow.

Spain is only Samsung Pay’s fourth market following South Korea, the US and China.  It claims to be the first mobile payment service to launch in Spain.

Certainly neither of its global rivals – Apple Pay nor Android Pay – have debuted there yet.

“The opportunity for Samsung Pay in Spain is significant, due to the high smartphone penetration rate and the digitalisation of the banking sector,” said Celestino Garcia, corporate VP, Samsung Spain.

Moreover, according to company research, nearly six in 10 Spaniards are interested in adopting a payments service.

Samsung Pay will be available for customers of local banks Abanca and Banco Sabadell soon.

Among retailers, the following will accept Samsung Pay: Cepsa, Cerveceria La Surena, Domino’s Pizza,  El Corte Ingles, Fridays, Ginos, Grupo DIA, MediaMarkt, Mercadona, Phone House, Repsol, Rodilla, Saba, Starbucks, The Good Burger, The Wok, VIPS, VIPSmart and 100 Montaditos.

In particular, El Corte Ingles will also become the first issuer of private cards in Spain to offer its customers the opportunity to pay via Samsung Pay.