Samsung recently launched its mobile payment service Samsung Pay in India. It has chosen the right time to launch it in India. Because, due to the government push, Indian people have started adopting mobile payments. Recently launched BHIM app has become a mode of cashless transaction. Samsung Pay can also ride in this surge of digital transactions. In this post, I will introduce you the Samsung Pay. You would also learn positive and negative points of this payment system.
What is Samsung Pay?
Samsung Pay is basically a digital payment solution. This payment solution works only with Samsung Smartphone and other devices. It is one of the most popular mobile payment services in the world. It has been active in global markets like the US, China, Malaysia, Australia, Singapore and Russia for a long time. And recently, the company launched it in India.
It allows you to pay with your credit or debit cards without using your physical cards. With Samsung Pay, you do not need to carry your cards. All you need to add your card details in Samsung Pay app. Through it, you can pay to any POS machine (point of sale machine used in shops) without swiping or presenting your card. It uses MST and NFC technology to transmit your card details to POS machines. These technologies transmits your card details from phone to swipe machine. It is similar to the physical card swipe.
In India, you can not only pay with your cards but also with your Paytm wallet. Samsung has integrated Paytm in it to make it more convenient for users. To with Paytm, you need to add your Paytm account with it.
How does Samsung Pay work?
As I have already told you, Samsung Pay uses NFC (Near Field Communication) and MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) to transmit your card details. In India, most of the older POS machines rely on the magnetic signal from physical cards. Hence, having MST support allows Samsung Pay to work with these swipe machines as well as newer NFC supported machines.
It securely stores your card details within your smartphone when you add a card. You can add more than one cards in Samsung Pay. To pay money, you need to open the app and choose a card to pay. The app will then ask for the fingerprint or PIN, based on your preference. Scan your fingerprint or enter PIN and take the phone close to the swipe machine. Samsung Pay will transmit the card details to the swipe machine. Swipe machine will then ask for the amount and PIN. Note that this PIN is your debit/credit card PIN. Enter it carefully and your Payment will be completed.
You can use Samsung Pay at every shop which has a swipe machine. Thanks to its MST support, you can use it to older card swipe machines. Note that older Indian swipe machines do not have NFC supports. Instead, they use magnetic signals to read cards. It mimics the magnetic signal of a card with MST. The machine thinks that a card has been swiped and it gets the details via MST. The process of Samsung Pay is as easy as it could get.
Samsung Pay supported devices
As Samsung Pay is launched recently, it supports very few devices. These are mainly higher mid-range and flagship devices from Samsung. But the company clarifies that this app will be available in its future smartphones. However, there are still many Samsung Phones which supports Samsung Pay.
Some rumours are indicating that it will also be available for Samsung J series smartphones. Note that Samsung J series contains entry-level to mid-level smartphones from Samsung. It includes some of the best-selling phones such as Galaxy J5, J7, J7 Prime etc. If it happens, the reach of Samsung Pay will significantly increase.
Steps set up Samsung Pay
- You need a supported phone and a stable internet connection.
- To use samsung pay, you also need a Samsung ID and password. You can get these by registering for Samsung account.
- Also, don’t forget to add your Samsung account to your phone. Go to settings>>Accounts>>Add account.
- Ensure that your phone is running on latest software. You can check and install updates from settings>>About Phone>>Software Updates.
- If your device is in the above list and running on latest software. Then you will see an icon for Samsung Pay. Tap this icon and install it on your phone.
- Complete one-time registration using Samsung ID and password. Register your fingerprint for maximum security. You can also use only the PIN for security.
- Now, add your cards and enjoy making payments with it.
Which cards work with Samsung Pay?
Currently, it supports cards from some of the major banks in India. It also supports American Express credit cards. The company is working day and night to provide support for more cards. The list of supported cards are as follows.
| Company | Credit Card | Debit Card |
| Standard Chartered | √ | √ |
| ICICI Bank | √ | √ |
| HDFC Bank | √ | √ |
| Axis Bank | √ | √ |
| American Express | √ | × |
| State Bank of India | √ | × |
| Citibank | √ | × |
In addition to these cards, you can also use Paytm for mobile wallet payments using Samsung Pay. Paytm is one of the widely used mobile wallets in India. Hence, adding it with Samsung Pay is a good step by the company. UPI (Unified Payment Interface) integration is also in process.
Pros and Cons of Samsung Pay
Pros
One of the main pros of Samsung Pay is its MST support. It takes Samsung Pay on top of its main rivals Android Pay and Apple Pay. Moreover, the security of the Samsung Pay is also the main USP. It stores all your card details on your phone. So, no one can get your card details.
Also, no one can use your card without the fingerprint or PIN which you set. That is why I suggest you add your fingerprint or a strong PIN for security. Further, if you change your phone, the card details will not be synced with the new phone. You will have to set the security and add the cards again in the new phone.
Samsung Pay is convenient and faster mobile payment solution. It already has Paytm integration and UPI integration is also on its way. Hence, you will be able to make payments almost everywhere.
Cons
Nothing can be all good and so as the Samsung Pay. The major drawback with Samsung Pay is that it supports only a few devices. And those devices considered as somewhat expensive in India. If the company releases it for its J series Android smartphones then it will be good for the company as well as Indian consumers.
The card support is also quite limited as of now. Debit cards for State Bank of India are not yet supported. Note that SBI is the largest bank in India. Hence, Samsung should provide the support for debit cards from SBI. Also, some major banks like Bank of Baroda and Bank of India are also missing from the list.
Of course, there are some drawbacks of Samsung Pay. Hence, you may try to remove it from your phone. But it is not easily possible. You have to take some unusual steps to uninstall Samsung pay from your phone.
Samsung Pay seems promising as it does not require a physical card. However, the BHIM Aadhaar Pay can be more revolutionizing than it. It does not even require a phone. Your fingerprint is sufficient for payment.
Meanwhile, the Samsung has come with the Samsung Pay Mini app. This app is made for mid-range Samsung phones as Samsung pay works on costly phones.
Like Samsung pay, Google has also launched its own payment app, Tez. Google Pay (Tez) has a unique feature of cash transfer where you are not required to enter any details of the beneficiary. You can download Tez from the google play store and iTunes.