Hot on the heels of the local launch of the Samsung Gear S3, the Korean giant has announced that Samsung Pay will now be available for all Gear S2 and Gear S3 smartwatches.
While Samsung Pay has seem some limited adoption in Australia, primarily due to limited banking partnerships, the service remains somewhat unique among smartphone payments, in that it uses both NFC and also MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) allowing it to work with both newer, NFC-enabled terminals, and also older EFTPOS terminals that might not support tap to pay.
Samsung Pay on Gear is reportedly easy to use, with users simply typing in a 4-digit PIN to authorise payments, then holding their watch near the payment terminal.
Richard Fink, Head of IT and Mobile Division at Samsung Australia said:
“The ability to make payments from our Gear S2 and S3 watches using Samsung Pay will give Australians yet another layer of convenience when shopping and allow them to make payments quickly and easily.
For the first time, Australians will be able to use Samsung Pay to tap their Gear wristwatch and purchase their Christmas gifts, pay for their coffee while on the run, or pay for their taxi ride, all without the need to carry a wallet or smartphone.
We have already seen an incredible uptake of Gear wearables in Australia, as well as Samsung Pay for Galaxy smartphones, which makes this an exciting and compelling solution for customers.”
If you (a) have a Samsung Gear S2 or Gear S3, and (b) have a supported American Express or Citi credit card, you can now use Samsung Pay on your watch.
We understand that the Samsung Pay for Gear service will work on just about any Android device running Android 4.4 and above, however we’ve just been advised that this won’t be switched on until tomorrow (23 November). If you have a Samsung Pay supported Samsung device, though, you may well be able to use this feature today.
Let us know if you’ve tried this out, or if you’ll be keen to give it a go.
I thought I wanted to buy an S3, but yesterday I tried one on in the Sydney Samsung store and now I’m not so sure. The thing is massive – it’s like having a hamburger sitting on top of your wrist! Can anyone who has one comment on how they’re finding the size?
I love my Gear S3…I’d love to be able to use Samsung Pay on it, but with only Amex and CitiBank credit cards (NOT debit cards), it’s just not possible. It’s actually rather pathetic, when you see the number who work with Apple Pay.