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 smartphone or Samsung smartwatch and a service-enabled card, you can leave your wallet (and everything in it) at home and pay at the cashier using just one application. installed on your device: Samsung Wallet (formerly 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 in a simple and safe way 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
- Installare Samsung Pay su smartwatch
- Make payment
- Safety
- Where can you use Samsung Pay
- Pay with Samsung Wearable
- 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. In addition, since summer 2022, it has been combined with a larger and more functional application called the Samsung wallet . Here you can store and then use sensitive data such as health passes , boarding passes , coupons , loyalty cards , digital keys and, of course, payment cards .
On a smartphone you can only use the service if you own a model of the Galaxy S series from S8 onwards, a Galaxy Note model from Note 8 onwards, a compatible model of the A , J , M and X series or a model of the Galaxy Fold series. . On the smartwatch, however, the service is available on Galaxy Watch3 , Galaxy Watch , Galaxy Watch Active2 , Galaxy Watch Active , Gear S3 and Gear Sport . The list is constantly updated, so I invite you to read theSamsung official page for more details.
If you don’t have at least one of these devices, I’m sorry but you can’t continue with the guide as you can’t use Samsung Wallet.
Licensed circuits and banks
Samsung Pay can be used with cards from banks that Samsung has partnered with. In particular, credit, debit or prepaid cards from the Maestro , MasterCard , Visa and V Pay circuits can be used . As for the Samsung Pay banks we find Mediolanum , BPM , BBVA , BPER , Banco di Sardegna BNL , BCC , CheBanca! , Credem , Fideuram , Findomestic , Central Bank Group ,Hello Bank! , Intesa Sanpaolo , IWBank , Nexi , UBI , UniCredit , Volksbank and Webank .
Although the major Italian banks fall on 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. For more details, see the official page .
Despite this rather long list, if I had to choose between Samsung Pay or Google Pay speaking only in numerical terms of banks and enabled cards, then the “big G” service would still win hands down for different lengths. In fact, not all the cards issued by the various institutions, although part of the aforementioned circuits, can then be combined with Samsung Pay. Beyond this there is no trace (at least for now) of Samsung Pay Postepay or Samsung Pay Fineco , partnerships that would make many users happy (I will however update the guide if there are any news on these fronts).
Activate Samsung Pay
Now let’s take action. The first step you need to take to use Samsung Pay is to download the app dedicated to the service to your smartphone (even if it comes pre-installed on the latest models) 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 the Payment Cards item and then press the + button to register your card. Then frame the latter with the phone’s camera to enter the data and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the registration, or add it manually by pressing the Add card manually button , or via NFC with the Add with NFC button .
You may be asked for an identity confirmation, 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 have just registered.
Installare Samsung Pay su 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 Wearable 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 Wearable app on your smartphone, tap Samsung Pay , then Add Card and follow the remaining instructions for registering your card via smartphone.
I suggest you carry out the same checks that I indicated earlier 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 watch too!
Make payment
Now that the application is ready, you can start using Samsung Pay to pay for your purchases: let’s see how it’s done together.
To launch Samsung Pay, tap the bottom of your smartphone screen and drag it up. This type of gesture is the default one but, through the Settings , you can change it to your liking. At this point, 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 have 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 bringing the smartphone to the POS to complete the transaction, you will be asked to identify yourself using your fingerprint, iris scan or unlock 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 can you 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 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 to transactions will remain valid. abroad.
Pay with Samsung Wearable
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 Wallet 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.
In addition, Samsung has its own method of repaying customer loyalty. Also from Samsung Wallet, you can sign up with a tap to Samsung Rewards by pressing the Get Started button . In this way, every time you make a purchase on the Samsung Shop Online, you will receive points and discounts on future purchases. More info here .
To add a loyalty card you will have to go to the Samsung Wallet home screen and tap Loyalty cards , then import it, choose one of the most famous ones from a list, or enter it manually. The list of predefined ones is mileage but, if yours is not present, adding one manually is not very different from the procedure seen for the payment ones. You can take the photo or add the various data by hand, and then save it in seconds.
The same procedure is also available for coupons , which are found under the heading of the same name from the main page of the Samsung Wallet. Here, too, you can manually add any coupons you have, keeping them in Samsung’s digital wallet.
