How helpful is Samsung Pay for doing transactions in 2017?

With the need for digital transactions on the go, all manufacturers have been trying to implement their own iteration of wireless payment portals. We have a host of digital wallet services such as Paytm, Freecharge and more. We also have the Indian Government’s BHIM UPI app. Unfortunately; India hasn’t yet received popular wireless payment solutions from manufacturers like Apple Pay and Android Pay. However, Samsung has graced us with its Samsung Pay service, which works on a revolutionary feature.

Unlike Android Pay or Apple Pay that use Near Field Communications (NFC) to perform transactions to NFC-enabled Point of Selling (PoS) machines, Samsung Pay uses a completely different technology. Samsung Pay uses Magnetic Secure Transmission to perform a transaction to any PoS device, without needing any infrastructure upgrade. Therefore it can be of immense help to the average Indian smartphone user in sorting out the hassles of daily life.

No need to carry physical cards

The whole concept of Samsung Pay is to replace your physical cards with your smartphone. Your phone goes along with you wherever you go, so it is better to use it to make payments instead of carrying additional cards. Your cards can stay at your place while your smartphone can do all the dealings with bill counters. Because all a PoS machine needs are the card number and account number, which can be easily stored on your device.

Secure transactions

Since MST chips replicate a card swipe by sending magnetic radiation to the machine, there is no need for physical contact between both the machines. Also, the service doesn’t need the cashier to even have a glance at the numbers during the payment process. The card and account numbers are sent through encrypted alphanumerical codes, which is difficult to hack. All of this makes your regular transaction as secure as possible.

Biometric authenticated verification

Compared to a PIN code for a physical card, biometric authentication on your smartphone is comparatively more secure. It is difficult for someone to copy fingerprints without physical access. Plus, if you have the Samsung Galaxy S8, you can even authenticate your transactions through iris scanner as well.

Military grade data storage

If you are someone who feels threatened in the wake of a slew of cyber attacks, then you should be happy to know that Samsung Pay uses military grade security solutions. With Samsung KNOX, the phone is constantly monitored for vulnerabilities. Even if the phone is compromised, card information is still safely encrypted within a separate and secure data vault. If your device gets stolen, you can remotely wipe off your data without letting anyone else accessing your financial details.

Can be used anywhere

Samsung Pay uses MST chip, which makes it possible to use on existing card-based cashless modes of transaction. Therefore, you can use Samsung Pay at petrol stations, restaurants, movie theatres and all other places that have to use a PoS machine for transactions.

However, not all is well in Samsung Pay’s camp.

1. As of now, only a limited number of banks have partnered with Samsung Pay for making cashless transactions on the platform. So, if your bank account is not a part of its support list, then you are out of luck.

2. Some banks, like ICICI, have stringent verification methods that require the presence of the debit card while making online transactions, which defeats the purpose of the Samsung Pay’s existence.

3.  It requires the use of persistent internet connection, which is standard for all online transactions.

4. Samsung Pay in only supported on limited Samsung Galaxy smartphones as of now, so you are out of luck if your smartphone doesn't flaunt a Samsung badge.

If you are willing to overlook these niggles, then Samsung Pay makes for a good wireless transaction portal. It can change the way you make payments and makes mobile devices even more important in our life.