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Samsung Pay Launched in India: Partner Banks, How to Use, Supporting Smartphones, and More

Samsung Pay Launched in India: Partner Banks, How to Use, Supporting Smartphones, and More

By Gadgets 360 Staff | Updated: 22 March 2017 15:39 IST

Highlights

UPI integration facilitates peer-to-peer money transfers
Samsung Pay UPI integration is powered by Axis Bank
While in its beta phase, UPI can be access via the app now

Samsung Pay mobile payments platform has been officially launched in India, weeks after the company started the Early Access programme for the service. The new payments solution will work with most major banks, UPI, and Paytm. At the Samsung Pay India launch event, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said the solution will help drive the formal economy in India, where 86 percent of the transactions are still done using cash. Compared to the Early Access programme, Samsung Pay at its formal launch supports American Express cards.

To recall, Samsung Pay supports both NFC and MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) that allows a user to send a magnetic signal from smartphone to the payment terminal's card reader.

Samsung Pay partner banks and UPI integration

Partner banks for Samsung Pay at launch include Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, Standard Chartered, and American Express. Citibank will become an issuing partner soon, with its credit cards set to supported in the near future. As mentioned above, Samsung Pay users can link their Paytm Wallet to the service.

Samsung Pay UPI integration is currently in its beta phase, and will roll out within two weeks, the company says. It is live now, however, and the UPI ID assigned to Samsung Pay is @pingpay. Users can create their user ID with username@pingpay to send or request money. The Samsung Pay UPI solution is powered by Axis Bank.

Also announced at the event was imminent support for company's Gear S3 smartwatch.

With Samsung Pay India launch, the solution is fully available in 12 global markets, including South Korea, the US, China, Spain, Singapore, Australia, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Russia, Thailand and Malaysia.

HC Hong, President and CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia, said, "Samsung Pay is an example of how we continue to push the boundaries of innovations to make life simpler and better for consumers. I am confident Samsung Pay will redefine digital payments and contribute to Digital India."

"Our insights show that convenience, security and acceptance are seen by consumers as the most important influencers when choosing among different digital payment options,” said Mr. Asim Warsi, Senior Vice President, Mobile Business, Samsung India. “With Samsung Pay, we give our consumers the smartest way to make digital transactions by far. Samsung Pay is highly secure through the signature KNOX Platform, fingerprint authentication and tokenization. We have partnered with major banks and card networks to give our consumers the widest range of choices, and are working on bringing more and more partners on board soon."

Samsung Pay supporting smartphones

The list of compatible devices for Samsung Pay mobile payment solution includes Samsung Galaxy Note5, Samsung Galaxy S7, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016), and Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016).

How to use Samsung Pay

So, how to get started with Samsung Pay? First, users will need to register via this page. Then, they'll need to ensure the Samsung Pay app is installed. If users do not see the app in their app drawer, they will need to ensure their device is on the latest software version, then add then Samsung Account ID via Settings > Accounts > Add Samsung Account. They should then see the Samsung Pay app icon, which will enable them to download and install the app.

How to set up Samsung Pay

Samsung Pay app registration is a one-time process, and it can be done with your Samsung Account ID and password. You can register fingerprint by tapping Use Fingerprint and users can also set up Samsung Pay PIN for payment authentication. During setup, users can opt for Skip and Use Samsung Pay PIN on the verification method page. For adding new cards, tap on Add your Debit/Credit Card which by default launches the camera within the app to auto read card details. It can be also done manually.

To add Paytm, users will have to add Paytm through Wallet option in Samsung Pay. The company recommends using mobile number to link your existing wallet to Samsung Pay. Additionally, users can also add money to their Paytm wallet via Samsung Pay. To add money, users will have to tap on Wallet on the main screen of Samsung Pay app, and then tap on Add to open the add money page. Interestingly, users can make payments using Paytm on Samsung pay irrespective of having the Paytm app on their smartphone.

For making a payment using Samsung Pay at a store, owners of compatible Samsung Galaxy smartphones will need to launch the Samsung Pay app and then select the card they want to pay with by swiping left or right. Users can then authenticate the payment by verifying their fingerprint (or using their Samsung Pay PIN), and then place the phone near the POS machine or card reader or NFC reader to complete the transaction. In case prompted for a PIN, users may be required to input 4-digit card PIN.

Samsung Pay India launch offers

Exclusive offers for Samsung Pay users were also detailed. Mastercard users would get 20 percent instant discount on Pizza Hut orders, 15 percent instant discount on Barista orders, and discounts on select combos at Cafe Coffee Day.

Axis Bank users can get up to Rs. 1,000 cashback; HDFC Bank users get 5x reward points on credit cards and 5 percent cashback on debit cards; SBI credit card users get up to Rs. 100 cashback per transaction; Paytm users get up to 100 percent cashback on movie tickets; ICICI Bank users get up to 50 percent cashback on credit and debit card transactions, and Standard Chartered users get up to 20 percent cashback on credit and debit card transactions. Finally, Visa users get complimentary popcorn+beverage combo at INOX Cinemas. Full details of all offers are available on the Samsung Pay India site.

Disclosure: Paytm's parent company One97 is an investor in Gadgets 360.

Written with inputs from IANS

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

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Further reading: Samsung, Samsung India, Samsung Pay India, Samsung Pay, Apps, Android, Mobile Payments, UPI, Unified Payments Interface, India, Digital Wallet