Samsung Pay Gets Support For Gift Cards Later This Year

It has just been a full month since Samsung Pay was launched in the United States and yet it’s proving to be a popular mobile payment service in the country, there’s no doubt that Samsung Pay’s rapid adoption is primarily due to its support for both NFC and MST, which basically means that users can pay at almost any merchant in the country where credit and debit cards are accepted. The company today announced that by the end of this year Samsung Pay users will be able to use gift cards to make payments at supported stores.

Samsung also revealed some usage data today, folks in the United States who have paid with Samsung Pay depict repeat usage with an average of eight transactions per user. The company’s data also shows that three out of four Samsung Pay transactions were made through MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) which enables existing card machines to accept payments via Samsung Pay.

The company is now expanding the partnership ecosystem in the country, in the coming months it will add support for cards issued by PNC Bank, TD Bank, SunTrust, Fifth Third Bank, First Hawaiian, Key Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, Security Service Federal Credit Union, Navy Federal Credit Union, Virginia Credit Union, Associated Bank, Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union and People’s United Bank. Discover cards will work on Samsung Pay starting next year.

It’s partnership with Blackhawk Network will enable users to pay via gift cards stored on their devices at retailers in categories such as fashion, grocery, dining and entertainment. Gift card support is set to arrive to Samsung Pay by the end of 2015.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Samsung, Samsung Pay