Samsung on Friday announced the commercial global launch of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge smartphones, including in Australia and the US, where carrier Verizon Wireless had not only announced that both smartphones would be shipped from March 11, but also confirmed that they would support Samsung Pay.

Jeffrey Nelson, vice president of communications at Verizon's Consumer and Enterprise businesses, tweeted that Samsung Pay would be available for the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge on March 11.

Samsung Pay had debuted in the Korean giant's home country in August 2015, and made its way to the US later in September. The mobile payment system supports both contactless NFC (Near-Field Communication) payments and magnetic strips, giving Samsung Pay an edge over Apple Pay and Android Pay, which only work with NFC terminals.

Samsung Pay is also expected to expand globally this year, including to the UK, Australia, Brazil and Singapore.

The mobile payment system is currently compatible with the Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Active, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+ and Galaxy Note 5 on AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint or US Cellular.

Related: Android Pay to hit UK by end of March; released in Australia within months

Earlier this week, Koh Dong-jin, President of Samsung’s handsets business, mentioned that the newly launched Galaxy handsets had delivered stronger-than-expected pre-orders. The first global release of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge will retail both smartphones in 60 countries.

Related: Samsung says pre-orders for Galaxy S7 phones better than expected

On Verizon Wireless, the full retail price of the Galaxy S7 is $672 (AU$896) whereas the Galaxy S7 Edge is listed at $792 (AU$1056). The carrier will offer the smaller S7 at $0 down with $28 per month for 24 months. The curved S7 Edge is available at $33 per month for the same duration.

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