In several ways, Samsung Wallet has been a more innovative mobile payment app than the high-profile competition from Apple and Google. It was the first to offer a rewards program and remains the only app that lets you pay at non-NFC magnetic credit card terminals. Nowadays, the Android-exclusive Samsung Wallet has NFC payments, loyalty plans, digital keys, ID storage, Visa Checkout online, and a no-fee, interest-bearing cash management account. You can even make peer-to-peer payments, but only to other Samsung users. Samsung Wallet is a fine option if you own a recent Samsung phone, but the lack of cross-platform support or web interface means it falls short of Apple Pay and Google Wallet, our Editors’ Choice winners for iOS and Android payment apps.
Setting Up Samsung Wallet
Samsung Wallet is available on most Samsung phone models, dating back to the Galaxy S6. In fact, it’s preinstalled on many Samsung phones. We set it up on a Galaxy S10, which involved creating a Samsung account and PIN. Adding a debit or credit card is simple: You frame the card in the camera rectangle that appears when you choose the Add a Card option and then enter the expiration date, CVV number, and ZIP code. Next, you agree to the usual verbose terms of service. We had to call our bank to authorize the setup, but that process varies depending on your bank’s security (some simply require a text message or email verification).
(Credit: Samsung)
The first payment card you add automatically becomes a Favorite Card. However, you must choose a Favorite Card if you add more plastic. Note: You can’t use Google Wallet for NFC payments after setting up Samsung Wallet on an Android phone. To switch back to Google Wallet, you must visit your phone’s Settings menu to swap in that tap-to-pay app.
Samsung Wallet’s design is a bit more cluttered than many payment apps we’ve tested, with many tabs and sections for deals. That’s not much of an issue when you tap to pay at a store or restaurant.
Paying With Samsung Wallet
We used Samsung Wallet to make purchases in local stores. The NFC payment process was relatively effortless, but Samsung asked for PIN verification more often than Apple Pay or Google Wallet. We mitigated that by using our fingerprint and iris data.
We also tested Samsung Wallet’s Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) capabilities, which still function in older handsets. We visited our local deli, which uses a pin pad point-of-sale device for card payments. The device only accepts magnetic stripe cards and cash, so no mobile payment option works. Using MST, we held the phone near the card reader to initiate the purchase. After entering our PIN, the transaction went through smoothly. Samsung is phasing out MST, so newer Samsung phones, starting with the Galaxy S21, no longer have this feature.
In testing, a Samsung watch proved to be a more convenient payment method than a handset. The watch has LTE connectivity, so you don’t need a paired phone. In fact, you don’t need constant connectivity to use Samsung Wallet—just as you don’t need connectivity on a magnetic stripe credit card. Note that you are limited to about 10 transactions before the watch demands a refresh of your Wallet information via a wireless connection. Using the watch to pay was a much more frictionless experience than the phone. We simply long-pressed the top button until our card image appeared and accepted the payment.
(Credit: Samsung/PCMag)
There’s one inconvenience using Samsung Wallet with the watch: You must reenter the PIN if you take it off your wrist. This makes sense as a security protection; you wouldn’t want someone to snatch the watch and drain your bank account. Another security measure (also used by Apple Pay and Google Wallet) uses tokenized codes rather than your actual credit card number. The service is protected by Samsung Knox, which monitors the devices for suspicious behavior.
Sending Money Using Samsung Pay Cash
Samsung Pay Cash is a peer-to-peer payment feature within Samsung Wallet that creates a digital debit card for money transfers. You add funds to this card with an existing card in the app or transfer them from a bank account.
Upon registering, you begin with a Lite account. Much like unverified Cash App and PayPal accounts, Lite accounts are very limited. You can only add or receive funds once, and transactions are capped at $500. This is paltry compared with the $1,500 hard limit Cash App affords unverified users or the impressive $4,000 max PayPal allows.
You can upgrade to a Full account by verifying your identity. That means inputting your legal name, street address, Social Security number, and date of birth. Full accounts can load and receive funds repeatedly, with a monthly limit of $3,500. This is fine for spotting a buddy or splitting a bill, but a far cry from the impressive $60,000 cap that PayPal and Venmo offer.
(Credit: Samsung/PCMag)
Samsung Money by SoFi
Previously, Samsung Wallet relied entirely on linked debit cards for monetary transactions. With Samsung Money by SoFi, you can now use Samsung Wallet as your bank, and the service even pays interest. It has zero fees, and Samsung partnered with MasterCard and SoFi to provide it. Another perk? You get employee pricing on Samsung products—up to 30% off, which adds up if you buy a Galaxy Z Fold 6 or a major home appliance.
To get started, you first must agree to the privacy terms, which are not especially comforting: You agree to share any and all information collected from your use of the service with Samsung, its parents, subsidiaries, and affiliates, including application info, transaction data, and other personal information. The SoFi privacy policy also states that they share your information with “nonaffiliates” (that is, third-party companies) to market to you. It says you can limit this sharing, but it’s unclear how. You must agree to nine documents, though an Agree to All button lets you fast-track the process.
If you throw caution to the wind and sign up for Samsung Money, you must enter your name and DOB, address, citizenship, and SSN. You’re informed that your SSN is protected and encrypted and that signing up doesn’t affect your credit score. Then, it needs your phone number for text verification. After your account is set up, you’re sent a card in the mail that you can use at ATMs, which you can find using the app. You can still use the account to pay in all the abovementioned ways, approving actions with biometrics such as your thumbprint. You also earn interest on money parked in the account; Samsung Money members earn up to 4.25% APY on all balances with no deposit requirements.
(Credit: Samsung)
Samsung Wallet offers reward points based on the number of qualified transactions. You start at Silver, which earns you one point per dollar spent. Gold earns you two points per dollar and requires 500 points earned within one calendar year to unlock. Platinum earns three points per dollar, and requires 2,500 points earned within a calendar year. This sounds nice, but each Samsung Reward point is worth about $0.005 on the Samsung website or in the Shop Samsung App. So it’s an understatement to say you must use the service a lot to get anything worthwhile. Still, we haven’t seen this perk in other payment apps, and if your linked card earns you points, you’re pretty much double-dipping with Samsung Wallet.
The app includes a Store section where you can buy gift cards for shops and restaurants and a Deals section offering printable coupons. You can add gift and membership cards in the app’s Wallet section. Memberships you can add include things like airline frequent flier programs, store loyalty cards, and even regular gym memberships. Finally, for app and website payments, Samsung leverages Visa Checkout, which is compatible with more than 350,000 merchants. Unlike Apple Pay and Google Wallet, you cannot directly access Samsung Wallet in a browser.
Like Apple Pay and Google Wallet, Samsung Wallet lets you store and use transit passes. With Tap to Ride, you can set an American Express, Mastercard, or Visa credit card as your default transit card, letting you tap and pay for fares at any NFC transit card reader. Some dedicated transit cards are fully supported, including OMNY in New York, Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) in France, and T-money and Cashbee in South Korea. Of course, Samsung also offers Wallet storing functions beyond credit and transit cards. You can save IDs and passports, loyalty cards, digital keys, boarding passes for major trips, and event tickets, just like Apple Pay and Google Wallet.
Samsung Wallet works not only in the US but also in more than 30 other countries: Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Vietnam, United Emirates, and the UK. That’s better than Venmo, which works only in the US, but it can’t match PayPal’s more than 200 supported countries.
Verdict: Good for Android Payments, Especially With a Samsung Watch
Samsung Wallet has many great features in common with Editors’ Choice winners Apple Pay and Google Wallet, including fast payments and excellent card, key, and ticket storage. It even beats Google Wallet with peer-to-peer payment options. However, these features are locked to Samsung phones, limiting the app’s reach. Add to that a somewhat intrusive privacy policy and a skimpy rewards program, and you have a respectable mobile payment app that falls short of the major players. However, Samsung Wallet is still a good option, particularly if you own a Samsung watch that makes purchases even smoother.
Michael Muchmore contributed to this review.
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The Bottom Line
Samsung Wallet has several notable mobile payment options for swiftly making purchases or sending cash to friends, but it lacks the accessibility and convenience of the competition in some areas.
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About Gabriel Zamora
