Samsung Pay is a mobile payment and digital wallet service by Samsung Electronics.
Samsung Pay lets users make payments via their phones, with the service supporting contactless payments using NFC (Near-Field Communications).
The service was first launched in South Korea in August 2015. It was developed from the intellectual property of LoopPay, a startup which was bought by Samsung in 2015.
The service is not only compatible with NFC payment systems, but also those which only support magnetic stripes.
How does Samsung Pay work?
Samsung Pay works by a user first adding a payment card to the Samsung Pay app. Having opened the app, you choose the card, authenticate with the fingerprint sensor and then tap against the point-of-sale terminal.
In 2016, Samsung announced that a Samsung Pay Mini was in the works. The Mini service will only be used for online payments, while also being targeted as a multi-platform service.
In 2017, Samsung confirmed that the Mini service would not only work on Samsung phones, but also on Android phones.
