UK’s Co-Op Bank is the latest bank in the region to gain support for Samsung Pay, which for those who are unfamiliar is Samsung’s digital mobile payment solution that can be used just about anywhere you can swipe a credit or debit card, so long as the bank that you use supports the system. In an official post today, Samsung noted that Co-Op Bank cardholders would be able to use their phones and devices like the Gear S3 to tap and pay for goods and services at compatible payment terminals and machines, though it does also note that there may be a payment limit for certain transactions, albeit without elaborating on what the payment limits are and whether or not there were any restrictions based on the transaction type.
In addition to using the tap and pay solution, the iris scanner can also be used for payments with Co-Op Bank cards if you have one of Samsung’s three newest devices which includes the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ as well as the Galaxy Note 8. In addition to the newly added support for Co-Op Bank and the ability to use cards issued from the institution at tons of retail locations, cardholders will also be able to use Samsung Pay as a solution for TfL services as well as National Rail Line services in London, with Samsung pay acting as a transport card. Samsung does point out that this will work on most National Rail Line services, which means that it won’t work for all of them, so users should verify that it will work before attempting.
While Co-Op Bank cards are now supported, it’s entirely possible that not all cards from this bank will actually support the payment system, so this is another thing users who bank with this institution will want to check out, as some banks may initially only support credit cards for payment and not debit cards. That said, Co-Op Bank doesn’t state that only certain cards can be used with the service, so there’s also a good chance that there may not be any card restrictions from the beginning. With Co-Op Bank now supported, UK users have a growing list of supported banks and cards to choose from when setting up Samsung Pay, including Visa and MasterCard, HSBC, M&S Bank, MBNA and others.