Samsung Pay (stylized as SΛMSUNG Pay) is a mobile payment and digital wallet service, operated by the South Korean company Samsung Electronics. It lets users make payments using compatible smartphones and other Samsung-produced devices, accessed using the Samsung Wallet app.

Samsung Pay
Developer(s)Samsung Electronics
Initial releaseAugust 20, 2015; 9 years ago (2015-08-20)
Operating system
PlatformSelected Samsung Galaxy smartphones & Galaxy Watch smartwatches
LicenseProprietary
Websitesamsung.com/samsung-pay

First launched in 2015, the service supports contactless payments using near-field communications (NFC), but also supports magnetic strip-only payment terminals by incorporating magnetic secure transmission (MST) in devices released before 2021.[1][2] In India, it also supports bill payments.[3]

Service

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Samsung Pay was developed from the intellectual property of LoopPay, a crowdfunded startup company that Samsung acquired in February 2015 for an estimated $300m, one of the largest acquisitions made by the firm. The service supports both NFC-based mobile payment systems (which are prioritized when support is detected),[4] as well as those that only support magnetic stripes. This is accomplished via a technology known as magnetic secure transmission (MST), which emulates the swipe of a permanent magnet strip past a reader by generating the near-field magnetic waveform directly. LoopPay's developers stated that because of this design, the technology would work with "nearly 90%" of all point-of-sale units in the United States (which excludes terminals that require the card to be physically inserted into a slot in order to function).[2]

On phones, the Samsung Pay menu is launched by swiping from the bottom of the screen. Different credit, debit and loyalty cards can be loaded into the app, and selected by swiping between them on-screen.[4]

In South Korea, Samsung Pay can be used for online payments[5] and to withdraw money on selected banks' ATMs.[6]

In Mainland China, Samsung Pay supports In-app payments, QR code payments (Alipay, and WeChat Pay) and public transportation cards of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and other cities.

In Hong Kong, Samsung Pay can be linked with Octopus cards, called Smart Octopus, to make electronic payments with stored value service for payments in online or offline systems.[7]

In India, Samsung Pay supports Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and BharatQR, but for bank accounts only, not via credit cards like Google Pay.[8] It also supports bill payments via the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS).[3]

In May 2020, Samsung Pay unveiled Samsung Money by SoFi, a mobile-first money management experience that makes available a cash management account and accompanying Mastercard debit card via the Samsung Pay app, in partnership with fintech company SoFi.[9]

In June 2022, Samsung Pay was renamed to Samsung Wallet in the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Along with the renaming came new features such as the ability to store digital assets and digital keys within the Wallet app. These new features also came to the Samsung Pay app in South Korea, despite it not adopting the new "Samsung Wallet" name.[10][11]

In Saudi Arabia , Samsung Wallet also supports adding Mada cards in addition to Visa and Mastercard , Mada which is the Saudi Payments Network is a major payment system in Saudi Arabia [12]

Security

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Samsung Pay's security measures are based on Samsung Knox and ARM TrustZone technologies; credit card information is stored in a secure token.[4] Payments must be authenticated using a fingerprint scan or passcode.[13][14]

In August 2016, security researcher Salvador Mendoza disclosed a potential flaw with Samsung Pay, arguing that its security tokens were not sufficiently randomized and could become predictable. He also designed a handheld device that could be used to skim magnetic secure transmission tokens, and another which could spoof magnetic stripes on actual card readers using the token. Samsung responded to the report, stating that "If at any time there is a potential vulnerability, we will act promptly to investigate and resolve the issue".[15]

Samsung Pay will not work with devices that have compromised Knox security.

Availability

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Global availability of Samsung Pay

Supported countries

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Date

(In chronological Order)

Support for payment cards issued in Samsung Wallet availability
August 20, 2015   South Korea[16]  
September 28, 2015   United States[16][17]  
March 29, 2016   China[18][19]  
June 2, 2016   Spain[20]  
June 15, 2016   Australia[21]  
June 16, 2016   Singapore[22]  
July 13, 2016   Puerto Rico[23]
July 19, 2016   Brazil[24]  
November 8, 2016   Canada[25][26]  
February 24, 2017   Malaysia[27]  
March 22, 2017   India[28]  
April 27, 2017   Sweden[29]  
  United Arab Emirates[30]  
May 16, 2017   United Kingdom[31]  
May 23, 2017   Switzerland[32]  
  Taiwan[33]  
May 25, 2017   Hong Kong[34]  
September 28, 2017   Vietnam[35]  
November 15, 2017   Belarus[36]
March 22, 2018   Italy[37][38]  
April 26, 2018   France[39]  
August 21, 2018   South Africa[40][41]  
March 23, 2019   Indonesia[42]
January 21, 2020   Kazakhstan[43]  
September 20, 2020   Kuwait[44]  
October 28, 2020   Germany[45]  
August 23, 2022   Qatar[46]  
October 31, 2022   Denmark[47]  
  Finland[48]  
  Norway[49]  
December 11, 2022   Bahrain[50]  
April 28, 2024   Oman[51]  
December 9, 2024  Saudi Arabia[52]  

In May 2016, it was reported that Samsung was developing a spin-off of the service known as Samsung Pay Mini. This service will be used for online payments only, and is also being targeted as a multi-platform service.[53]

In January 2017, Samsung has confirmed that Samsung Pay Mini will not only work on its Galaxy devices but on other Android phones as well, as long as they are running Android Lollipop or above and have a screen resolution of 1280 × 720 pixels or higher.[54][55]

In June 2017, Samsung launched Samsung Pay Mini which is currently available on Galaxy J7 Max/On Max phones (in India).[56]

Availability is limited not just on the basis of where the payment card is issued, but also on the basis of the phone's country-specific code (CSC). Thus, a phone made for an unsupported region can never use Samsung Pay even if it physically resides in a supported region and has a local SIM card. The rather unrelated error message "Connection error. Unable to connect to Samsung Pay temporarily. Try again later." is how Samsung Pay reports this problem.

In June 2020, Samsung announced a partnership between Samsung Pay, Curve and Mastercard for the launch of Samsung Pay Card in the UK and more EE countries where Curve has customers later in 2020.

From September 2021, Samsung Pay Mini was made available for the Galaxy A and Galaxy M series.[57][58]

Compatible devices

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Flagship smartphones

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Galaxy S

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Galaxy Note

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Galaxy Z

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Mid-range smartphones

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Galaxy A

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Galaxy M

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Galaxy J

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  • Samsung Galaxy J5 & J7 (2016)
  • Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)/J5 Pro
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)/J7 Pro
  • Samsung Galaxy J7 Max (2017)

Galaxy C and others

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Available to Samsung Pay users within Hong Kong, Macau and China.

Smartwatches

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Welch, Chris (January 14, 2021). "The Galaxy S21 doesn't support Samsung Pay's most convenient feature". The Verge. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Samsung Pay: What you need to know (FAQ)". CNET. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Samsung India Introduces 'Bill Payments' on Samsung Pay, Now Pay all Your Utility Bills Securely". news.samsung.com. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d "Samsung Pay: What is it, how does it work, when is it coming to the UK?". Pocket-lint. March 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  5. ^ "Samsung Pay ATM Cash Withdrawals Go Live, but with Limited Availability for Now". April 29, 2016.
  6. ^ J Yeo (August 21, 2015), 삼성페이로 우리은행ATM에서 인출하기 How to withdraw from Wooribank ATM, retrieved May 21, 2016
  7. ^ "Now your phone can replace your Octopus card (if it's a Samsung)". South China Morning Post. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  8. ^ "Samsung Pay Launched in India; UPI Integration Announced". NDTV Gadgets360.com. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  9. ^ "Introducing Samsung Money by SoFi: Do More With Your Money". May 27, 2020.
  10. ^ "Introducing Samsung Wallet: An easy-to-use, secure platform that holds everything your digital life needs". Samsung US Newsroom. June 16, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  11. ^ "SAMSUNG PAY | Samsung 대한민국". Samsung sec (in Korean). Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  12. ^ "Samsung Wallet Mada Support in Saudi".
  13. ^ "First Look: Samsung Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge Finally Gets a Premium Design". Re/code. March 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  14. ^ "Loop turns almost any point-of-sale system into a mobile payment machine (hands-on)". Engadget. October 8, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  15. ^ "Flaw in Samsung Pay lets hackers wirelessly skim credit cards". ZDNet. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  16. ^ a b "Samsung Announces Launch Dates for Groundbreaking Mobile Payment Service: Samsung Pay". Samsung. August 14, 2015.
  17. ^ "Samsung Mobile Payment Service – Samsung Pay, Available Starting Today in the U.S." Samsung. September 28, 2015.
  18. ^ "Samsung Pay is Now Available in China with China Union Pay". Samsung. March 29, 2016.
  19. ^ Catherine Shu (March 29, 2016). "Samsung Pay just launched in China, but already faces fierce competition". techcrunch.com. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  20. ^ "Samsung Pay is Now Available in Spain". Samsung. June 2, 2016.
  21. ^ "Samsung Pay is Now Available in Australia". Samsung. June 15, 2016.
  22. ^ "Samsung Pay Launches in Singapore". Samsung. June 10, 2016.
  23. ^ "Samsung Pay Launches in Puerto Rico". Samsung. July 13, 2016.
  24. ^ "Samsung Pay Launches in Brazil". Samsung. July 15, 2016.
  25. ^ "What is Samsung Pay: News, Features, Support, Availability, and More". July 27, 2018.
  26. ^ "Samsung Pay Launch in Canada: CIBC Gets Beta Access". iPhone in Canada. November 8, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  27. ^ "Electronics giant holding roadshow on new payment method". The Star. February 22, 2017.
  28. ^ "Samsung Pay launched in India". GSMArena. March 6, 2017.
  29. ^ Rian Boden (March 9, 2017). "Sweden becomes first Nordic country to get Samsung Pay". NFC World.
  30. ^ ASIF S. (April 27, 2017). "Samsung Pay expands to Hong Kong, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UAE". SamMobile.
  31. ^ Samuel Gibbs (May 6, 2017). "Samsung Pay launches in UK to take on Apple Pay and Google Android Pay". The Guardian. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  32. ^ "Samsung Pay gibts jetzt auch in der Schweiz". Tages-Anzeiger (in German). April 27, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  33. ^ George Liao (May 23, 2017). "Samsung Pay gets rolling in Taiwan". Taiwan News. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  34. ^ Enoch Yiu (May 25, 2017). "Late-comer Samsung Pay goes live in Hong Kong". South China Morning Post.
  35. ^ "Samsung steps into Vietnam's financial services sector". Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  36. ^ "С 15 ноября белорусы смогут платить смартфоном или часами" (in Russian). Archived from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  37. ^ "Samsung Pay launched in Italy". SamMobile. March 22, 2018. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  38. ^ Rita El Khoury (March 22, 2018). "Samsung Pay launches today in Italy". androidpolice.com. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  39. ^ "Samsung Pay may have quietly gone live in France". SamMobile. April 26, 2018. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  40. ^ "Samsung Pay Launch in South Africa". Samsung.
  41. ^ "Samsung Pay early access now live". Samsung. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  42. ^ Rahman, Adi Fida. "Masuk Indonesia, Samsung Pay Dikembangkan Anak Bangsa". detikinet (in Indonesian). Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  43. ^ "Samsung Pay - a convenient and secure payment service" (in Russian). Samsung Official Website.
  44. ^ https://www.samsung.com/ae/apps/samsung-wallet/#banks Samsung Pay : Supported Banks : Kuwait https://www.cbk.com/Personal-Banking/Services-and-Support/Samsung-Wallet Central Bank Kuwait
  45. ^ "Samsung Pay is now available in Germany" (in German). Samsung Official Website.
  46. ^ "Samsung Pay is now available in Qatar" (in Arabic). QNB Qatar Bank Official Website.
  47. ^ "Samsung Pay kommer snart til Danmark - MereMobil.dk". meremobil.dk (in Danish). October 27, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  48. ^ "Samsung Wallet -lompakkosovellus tuli saataville Suomessa – pankkikumppanit puuttuvat toistaiseksi". Mobiili.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  49. ^ Giske, av Marit Elisabeth. "Nå tilbyr DNB Samsung Pay". DNB Nyheter (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  50. ^ "Samsung Pay is now available in Bahrain" (in Arabic). BBK Bahrain Bank Official Website.
  51. ^ "National Bank of Oman Launches Samsung Wallet". National Bank Of Oman.
  52. ^ "SAMA announces the Launch of Samsung Pay Service in KSA". Saudi Central Bank , Official launch.
  53. ^ "Samsung Pay Mini coming to other Androids, iPhone and desktop". GSMArena. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  54. ^ "Samsung Pay Mini now official, will be available for non-Galaxy phones". February 2, 2017.
  55. ^ "Samsung Pay Mini to launch for Android". ZDNet.
  56. ^ "Samsung Pay mini - Mobile Payment Service".
  57. ^ S., Asif (April 26, 2021). "Samsung Pay Mini coming to more Galaxy A, Galaxy M series phones". SamMobile. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  58. ^ "Samsung Galaxy M31 Getting Samsung Pay mini Support in India". NDTV Gadgets 360. September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2021.