Samsung Pay is now available on Verizon
Samsung Pay supports contactless NFC payments and magnetic strips and can be used at more merchants than Apple Pay or Android Pay.
Verizon skipped the launch of Samsung Pay in the United States but its subscribers will still get the popular payment service. Samsung has rolled out an over-the-air update for Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge Plus and Galaxy Note5 to introduce Samsung Pay to over 105 million Verizon customers.
“If you are a Verizon user and your phone needs to be updated to work with Samsung Pay, you’ll be prompted to download the necessary updates during the application installation process,” says Samsung in an official blog post.
Verizon customers will be notified about the necessary software update in a few days. A new standalone Samsung Pay app landed on Google Play on the carrier’s network yesterday. Now, users on Verizon's wireless network will be able to download the Samsung Pay app directly from Google Play.
“Once installed, you can open Samsung Pay, input your necessary information and instantly start paying directly from your qualified Samsung smartphone,” confirmed Samsung.
On Sept. 28, Samsung launched its mobile payment service in the United States. Since then, Samsung Pay has been available only on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular.
Samsung Pay supports contactless NFC (Near-Field Communication) payments and magnetic strips. This means the service can be used at more merchants than Apple Pay or Android Pay, which only work with NFC terminals.
Initially, Samsung Pay was launched in South Korea where it exceeded all expectations with first monthly transactions over $30 million. Samsung Pay works with Visa and MasterCard from Bank of America, Citi, US Bank, Synchrony Financial and American Express. The secure and easy-to-use mobile payment service works almost anywhere with a simple tap or swipe of the card.
The only snag is that it works only with expensive Galaxy smartphones. Last month, speculation floating on the Web said Samsung Pay might expand beyond the flagships and include more budget handsets.
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