Mobile payments have really taken off with the launch of Apple Pay in the UK recently. Now it’s Samsung’s turn, with the launch of Samsung Pay. Originally announced alongside the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, Samsung Pay is due to come to the UK soon. Here’s everything that I know about it so far.
As with Apple Pay, Samsung Pay works by storing a digital copy of your credit or debit card on your phone. It doesn’t store the actual credit card details, but a secure digital token. Payments all create a unique transaction token, which means that your cards can’t be cloned or stolen, as with a physical card.
Device support
First, you’ll need to have one of the latest Samsung handsets to use the technology, which means a Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge Plus or a Galaxy Note 5. Samsung has not said if older phones will be supported. Next, you’ll need to have a bank or card issuer that supports the service. Samsung told me that there are no technical restrictions and that all banks can support the service, but with the launch still a way away a list of supporting banks has not been announced.
How to pay
Paying with Samsung Pay is very similar to paying with Apple Pay. From the home screen or lock screen, you swipe up from the bottom, running your finger over the fingerprint reader. From there you can choose which card you want to pay with, before tapping your card to the reader and completing the transaction.
Which shops support Samsung Pay?
Any shop that has a contactless reader will support Samsung Pay. Transactions are limited to £20 (rising to £30 in September). Apple Pay supports unlimited transactions if the retailer supports it, but I haven’t been able to find out if the same applies with Samsung Pay.
Additionally, Samsung Pay supports Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST), which means that it should work with any reader that has a mag-strip reader in it. These are extremely common and still exist on UK contactless and chip-and-PIN readers for compatibility with older and foreign cards. That should mean that Samsung Pay will work in more stores than Apple Pay, but I haven’t been able to find out if banks and shops will accept this kind of payment: we won’t know until launch. If MFT is supported, all you’ll have to do is hold the phone up to the MST reader.
When will it come to the UK?
Samsung has just said that it will come to the UK as the next market after the US and Korea, but there’s no firm date for it. As soon as there's more information, this story will be updated.
