As expected, Samsung has acquired its mobile payments partner LoopPay, signalling both a commercial and technical challenge to Apple, since the start-up’s system does not use NFC, the contactless m-transactions technology supported in Apple Pay. The Korean giant is busily adding functionality to its mobile platform in order to maximize the impact of the upcoming Galaxy S6, whose success will be critical to stem the recent weakening of Samsung’s smartphone dominance. It is reported to be planning to pre-instal Microsoft apps such as Office and Skype, and to overhaul its TouchWiz user interface. As well as enriching the experience, such moves would also further distance the Galaxy software from that of Google’s generic platform, helping Samsung differentiate itself from the…