Mobile phones are more than just for texting and sharing social media. Samsung Pay allows you to use your Samsung phone to make payments, but only if your cards work with it.
In recent years, digital wallet apps like Samsung Pay have been growing in popularity. Samsung Pay is an option to cash and physical cards if you own a Samsung smartphone or smartwatch. Let’s take a deeper look to see if Samsung Pay is a good match.
What’s Samsung Pay?
Samsung Pay was launched in 2015. It is a digital wallet that can be used to pay for almost anything.
Samsung Pay is part a larger suite of features called Samsung Wallet. Samsung Pay uses near-field communication (NFC) technology to enable contactless payment via debit/credit cards. You can save your cards to your digital wallet by simply opening the app and tapping the phone.
What devices support Samsung Pay?
Samsung Pay is only available on compatible smartwatches and Samsung phones. The Samsung Pay app was initially limited to the Galaxy-class Samsung phones. However, it is now available for a wider range of Samsung phones.
Samsung Pay can be installed on these phones currently:
- Galaxy Note9
- Galaxy S9+
- Galaxy S9
- Galaxy Note8
- Galaxy S8+
- Galaxy S8
- Galaxy S7 edge
- Galaxy S7
- Galaxy S6 edge+
- Note 5
- Galaxy A8+
- Galaxy A7 (2017)
- Galaxy A5 (2017)
- A5 (2016)
- A7 (2016)
- Galaxy A9 Pro
- Galaxy J7 Pro
Using SamsungPay with wearables
Your smartwatch can also be used to tap and pay using the Samsung Galaxy smartwatch screen. You’ll be able to see the last card that you have used by pressing and holding the “Back” button. Tap “Pay” to hold your wrist towards the payment reader.
These wearables work with Samsung Pay:
- Sport gear
- Galaxy Watch
- Galaxy Watch Active
- Galaxy Watch Active2
- Galaxy Watch3
- Galaxy Watch4
- Galaxy Watch4 Classic
Is Samsung Pay safe?
Samsung Pay offers several security features to protect your data. To unlock the payment app, you will need to have a PIN (or a thumbprint) to do so. The app encrypts all personal, card and payment data before it transmits to Samsung servers. The Samsung server and device do not store card data.
Samsung also offers a free Find My Mobile Service if your device is lost or stolen. You can also remotely lock or erase Samsung Pay.
Should I use Samsung Pay?
Samsung Pay (or Wallet), is only available to eligible Samsung smartphones and compatible smartwatches. However, it’s a highly competitive, comprehensive, secure, and affordable app. The security features that protect financial and personal information should make it easy for users to feel secure. The NFC hardware and software are combined to make payments easy.
However, choosing the right digital wallet app for you is not always easy. It all comes down to your preferences and individual needs. There are many other ways to send money or spend money if you don’t want to use your cards.
Although PayPal, Zelle, and Venmo are convenient and popular ways to transfer money, it is less likely that your local restaurant will accept payment through these platforms.
Apple Pay and Google Pay are similar to Samsung Pay, but Apple Pay works only for Apple users while Google Pay can be used by both iOS or Android.