Samsung Pay is really their ‘Next Big Thing’ now and could potentially help bust open the floodgates on the Android side of mobile payments…along with Android Pay, of course. Just how much potential there is depends on the number of participants involved, because this is certainly one of those times where ‘the more the merrier’ applies. All of the major US networks jumped on board immediately…except Verizon, of course. This led to a lot of outrage among Verizon users as they continued to “evaluate” Samsung Pay support. Verizon dragged their feet on making a decision, considering they are a smartphone and tablet manufacturer that sells more Android devices in the world than any other does. Well for those who have been waiting, the carrier has officically announced they have now approved Samsung Pay as of October 21.
This means you can now use Samsung Pay with an approved smartphone on Verizon’s network. In order to use the service you will need one of Samsung’s latest flagship phones – Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge+, or the Galaxy Note 5. You will also be able to make payments via their new Gear S2 smartwatch, but only on NFC terminals…the ‘Tap and Pay’ systems that are at many retailers. In the US, you must be on one of the major carriers – Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint or US Cellular. Although Samsung is constantly working with new banks and credit card companies, for now, you must have a Visa, American Express or MasterCard from Bank of America, Citibank, US Bank or Synchrony Financial.
What makes Samsung Pay a possibly better option than Apple Pay and maybe even Android Pay, is that it can work at almost any terminal – although you might not be able to use it at a gas pump were you slide you card in and then pull it out…for that you may have to go inside and use Samsung Pay at the counter. Samsung Pay allows you to pay via any NFC terminal, but also where they only have a magnetic card swipe system – it accomplishes this with Magnetic Secure Transmission, or better known as MST. This function is courtesy of LoopPay’s purchase earlier this year, by emitting a secure magnetic signal to the card reader. What makes it so secure, is the fact that your credit card is never actually transmitted; instead, it transmits a one-time 16-digit token generated by the phone’s encryption key. Since Samsung Pay must use your fingerprint to authorize the payment, if you phone is stolen, the theft will not be able to make purchases with your stolen device. Check out the video below for more information.
https://youtu.be/hmT0WGVjT4M