Samsung Pay update available for Verizon devices

Verizon has started rolling out a software update that will add Samsung Pay support to a range of Galaxy devices. Samsung Pay will now be available on Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, Galaxy S6 Edge and Galaxy S6 on Verizon.

Users can expect to see an over-the-air (OTA) software update notification, if they haven’t received it already. They will then be able to download Samsung Pay from Google Play Store.

Earlier this month, Verizon revealed that the carrier is gearing up to roll out a software update to extend support for Samsung Pay, as reported by Engadget. Confirming the upgrade, a snapshot of an email sent to Samsung representatives at Best Buy has been posted by a Reddit user.

Samsung Pay works wherever credit and debit cards are accepted. Currently, the service is supported by American Express, Bank of America, U.S. Bank, Citi and Synchrony Financial. Samsung Pay works with Visa and MasterCard issued by banks and financial institutions.

Samsung Pay works with both the traditional magnetic card readers as well as payment terminals equipped with Near Field Communication (NFC). This gives the service an edge over its competitors, such as Apple Pay and Android Pay, which only works with NFC. Apart from Verizon, the service is also supported by AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and US Cellular.

Samsung Pay is secured by tokenisation, which is the process of substituting the card’s number with a unique alphanumeric identifier. The actual card number remains secure with the payment processor and is not revealed on the merchants’ systems.

Samsung Pay has been gaining popularity in both South Korea and the U.S. According to a report by Tech Times, the International Data Corporation estimated that the service may reach a whopping US$4 trillion (AU$5.50 trillion) by 2020.

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