How Samsung Pay works

In recent months, when you have been out shopping or grocery shopping, you have seen more and more people go to pay at the cashier with their mobile phone and you have surely wondered how they did it. On the other hand, you still walk around with your wallet full of cash and credit cards and have always paid for your purchases in the traditional way.

Well, you need to know that if you have a compatible Samsung device and a card from a service-enabled bank, you can leave your wallet (and everything in it) at home and pay at the cashier using only an installed application. on your smartphone or smartwatch: Samsung Pay. Are you curious about what it is and how it works? If the answer is yes, know that you are in the right place at the right time.

In fact, this guide will explain how Samsung Pay works, so that you can access the service, register your cards, pay simply and securely and, why not, even take advantage of some dedicated promotions. Are you ready for this little revolution? Then proceed with the reading, I’m sure you will never go back!

Index

• Compatible devices
• Licensed circuits and banks
• Activate Samsung Pay
• Install Samsung Pay on smartwatch
• Make payment
  • Safety
  • Where you can use Samsung Pay
• Pay with Samsung Gear
• Loyalty cards and promotions

Compatible devices

First, you need to know that Samsung Pay is only available on certain models in the Samsung range of smartphones and smartwatches.

Specifically, you can only use the service if you own Galaxy Note9, Galaxy S9 / S9 +, Galaxy Note8, Galaxy S8 / S8 +, Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S6 edge +, Galaxy A7 2018, Galaxy A8, Galaxy A6 / A6 +, Galaxy A5 2017, Galaxy A5 2016, Galaxy Watch, Gear S3 classic/frontier or Gear Sport. If you don’t have at least one of these devices, I’m sorry but you can’t continue with the guide.

Licensed circuits and banks

Samsung Pay can be used with bank cards that Samsung has partnered with. In particular, credit, debit or prepaid cards from the Maestro, MasterCard, Visa and V Pay circuits of the Mediolanum, BNL, BCC, CheBanca! , Hello Bank! , Intesa Sanpaolo , Nexi and UniCredit .

Although the major Italian banks fall into this list, the number of enabled banks is set to increase as Samsung enters into partnership agreements with new credit institutions. So, if your bank doesn’t show up, don’t be discouraged and try to check back in some time. If you have one of these cards then you are really good, we can move on to practice.

Activate Samsung Pay

The first step you need to take to use Samsung Pay is to download the app dedicated to the service to your smartphone and access it through your Samsung account. If you don’t have one yet, I invite you to check out my guide on how to create a Samsung account.

Once logged in, select add card to register your card. Then point the phone with the phone’s camera to enter the data and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the registration.

You may be asked for a confirmation of identity, which, depending on your credit institution, could be via SMS, phone call, email or bank application. To register and activate your card, you need an Internet connection (mobile or wireless network).

After loading the card, I recommend that you do a quick check to verify that the data actually matches the physical card. The image that is shown may be different, so the information you need to pay attention to is.

• Your card issuer (your bank).
• The circuit to which your card belongs.
• The last 4 digits of your card.

If everything is correct, you can proceed but be aware that it may take up to 10 minutes for the actual activation of the card you just registered.

Install Samsung Pay on smartwatch

If you don’t always have your smartphone handy, you can install Samsung Pay on your Gear as well. If you don’t have the Samsung Gear app installed on your smartphone, you can download it from the Play Store or possibly also from Galaxy Apps.

Before starting, make sure your smartwatch is updated to the latest version and connected to your smartphone. Now, open the Samsung Gear app on your smartphone, tap Settings, Samsung Pay, then Add Card: You will now need to enter a PIN, which you will use as payment authentication. Point the card with your smartphone’s camera to finish.

I suggest you carry out the same checks that I indicated above and I remind you that to register and activate a card, the smartphone you are using must have an active Internet connection (mobile or wireless network). You are now ready to pay via your Gear too!

Make payment

Now that the application is ready, you can start using Samsung Pay to pay for your purchases: let’s see how to do it together.

To launch Samsung Pay, tap the bottom of your smartphone screen. Then, select the card you want to use, identify yourself and bring your smartphone close to the POS or in any case to the payment terminal, about 5 centimeters from the magnetic stripe reader. What to say? You have already paid! All over: the transaction has taken place! Convenient, right? To pay, you don’t even need an active internet connection.

Also, if you tap a card registered in the application, you can view a history of the last 10 transactions made in the last month with the card you selected.

Safety

It’s all beautiful, it’s all so simple and so immediate but I guess you are wondering if it’s all so safe too. Well yes! Samsung is committed to ensuring the security of the Samsung Pay service divided into three levels.

• After selecting the card, before you bring your smartphone to the POS to complete the transaction, you will be asked to identify yourself using your fingerprint, iris scan or four-digit PIN.
• Your card details are never stored on your device or appear in transactions, thanks to tokenization, a procedure that replaces sensitive card information with device-specific alternative values.
• Data protection is entrusted to Samsung Knox, the platform already integrated into your device.

Where you can use Samsung Pay

You can use Samsung Pay in any business that accepts credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards, such as supermarkets, bars and restaurants.

In detail, Samsung Pay supports both NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, to transmit payment data wirelessly, and MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) technology, to transmit data via a magnetic field, so it will be usable with practically everyone. POS, whether traditional or contactless.

You can also use Samsung Pay abroad: as far as feasibility is concerned, there are no problems, you can use Samsung Pay instead of a credit card, but remember that the terms and conditions to which your card is subject for transactions will remain valid. abroad.

Pay with Samsung Gear

As I told you before, if you don’t always have your smartphone handy, you may find it convenient to use your compatible smartwatch. The payment procedure is very simple, similar to the one to follow to pay with a smartphone.

To launch the Samsung Pay app, press and hold the Back button on your Gear. Then, to select the card you want to use, rotate the bezel and finally tap pay. To complete the payment, just bring the smartwatch close to the POS or payment terminal, just as if you were using your smartphone. Again, it’s all done.

The optimal position to keep the Gear in order to successfully complete the transaction is close to the magnetic strip or 1 centimeter from the contactless area of ​​the POS. An internet connection is not required to make the payment, nor is it required that the Gear is connected to the smartphone.

Loyalty cards and promotions

In addition to being a payment tool, Samsung Pay allows you to store loyalty card data, the points collection cards, so to speak, to be able to use them without having physical support, just like credit cards.

Samsung has also entered into agreements with some partners, including Bennet, Bifrost, Chicco, Cisalfa Sport, DayBreakHotels.com, Deliveroo, EF – Education First, Golden Point, Green Network Energy, IKEA Business, Leroy Merlin, Moleskine, Old Wild West, Penny Market, Prenatal, Timberland and YOOX. By clicking on Promotions, you will be able to receive coupons and offers from the brands I have just indicated.

To add a loyalty card you will need to go to the Samsung Pay home screen and tap ADD, then Add loyalty cards. Now choose the card brand name or select Add New Card. If you want you can add the front and back images of your card, otherwise, in the required fields, tap the barcode icon, then align the card barcode with the frame you see on the screen. Finally, complete the entry of the mandatory information that is requested of you and tap Save to finish. Easier done than said!