# Samsung Pay (Samsung Wallet)

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/samsung-pay
> research date 2026-05-29 · extracted at 2026-10-03
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

Specifications:
- [Samsung Wallet — official](https://www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/apps/samsung-wallet/)
- [Samsung Pay — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Pay)

## Supported standards

This wallet supports the following visual-code standards:

- [`samsung-pay-qr`](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/samsung-pay-qr)

## Overview

**Samsung Pay** (now consolidated into **Samsung Wallet**) is **Samsung Electronics' Android-native mobile-payment service**, launched **August 2015 in South Korea** <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [Korea, Republic of report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/KR)</sup>. As of **2025**, Samsung Pay operates in **29 countries** with **Samsung Wallet available in 40+ countries** (including South Korea, UK, Germany, Australia, Canada). **In South Korea, Samsung Pay is used by 8 out of 10 smartphone owners** — overwhelming home-market dominance.

**Distinctive structural feature: MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission)** — Samsung devices through ~2021 embedded MST hardware enabling **payment at magnetic-stripe-only terminals**, distinct from NFC-only competitors (Apple Pay + Google Pay). **By mid-2024, Samsung Pay was fully absorbed into Samsung Wallet**, marking **official end of standalone MST-based transactions in most countries** — but **MST still available in South Korea on Galaxy S23 + post-2021 devices**.

## History

**August 2015 — Launched in South Korea** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: Initial market.

**September 2015 — US launch** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: Second market.

**2015-2018 — Multi-country expansion** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Brazil, Mexico, etc.

**~2021 — MST hardware removed from new Samsung devices** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: NFC-only going forward in most markets.

**Mid-2024 — Samsung Pay absorbed into Samsung Wallet** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: Brand consolidation; standalone MST-based transactions discontinued in most countries.

**2025 — Service expansion to South Africa + Turkey** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Continued geographic growth.

## Ownership & operator

**Operating entity**: **Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd** (KOSPI: 005930) — South Korean conglomerate.

**Banking partners (multi-jurisdiction)**: Bank-sponsored card-issuance + tokenization.

**Card-network partners**: **Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, UnionPay** + per-country networks.

**Regulators (multi-jurisdiction)**: Per-country financial-services regulators + central banks.

## Technical integration

Samsung Pay is **Android-native EMV-tokenization + (historically) MST** <sup>[1][1], [2][2]</sup>:

| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| **Channels** | **Samsung Wallet app** (Galaxy devices native) |
| **Identifiers** | Card number (tokenized via EMV) |
| **Tokenization** | **EMV Payment Tokenization Specification** (Visa Token Service + Mastercard MDES + Amex + Discover token services) |
| **NFC** | Standard contactless ISO/IEC 14443 |
| **MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission)** | **Distinctive Samsung feature** — emits magnetic field mimicking card swipe; works on magnetic-stripe-only terminals. **Discontinued in most countries mid-2024**; **still active in South Korea on post-2021 Galaxy devices** |
| **Authentication** | Biometric (fingerprint, face, iris) + Samsung Pass + Samsung Knox |
| **Hardware-tied** | Samsung Galaxy devices only (some support on Samsung wearables) |

## Users & growth

**Global (2025)** <sup>[1][1]</sup>:
- **Service countries (Samsung Pay)**: 29
- **Samsung Wallet country availability**: 40+
- **Asia-Pacific share of users**: 40% (largest regional concentration)
- **North America share**: 25%
- **South Korea adoption**: 8 out of 10 smartphone owners use Samsung Pay (overwhelming home-market dominance)

**Geographic note**: Samsung doesn't publish detailed global Samsung Pay user counts; ~100M+ global estimates are widely cited but unconfirmed.

## Use cases

**In-store NFC tap-to-pay** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Cardinal use — contactless terminals.

**MST magnetic-stripe-terminal payments (South Korea only post-2024)** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Distinctive Samsung feature, enables payment at terminals without NFC.

**Online + in-app checkout** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Samsung Pay button.

**Public transit ticketing** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: Multiple cities accept Samsung Pay.

**Loyalty cards + boarding passes** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: Samsung Wallet container.

**Crypto + digital-asset storage** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: Some markets via Samsung Blockchain Wallet.

**Identity + digital-key (Samsung Wallet)** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: Driver's license, student ID, building access.

## Implementations & partners

**Operator**: **Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd** (KOSPI: 005930).

**Card-network partners**: **Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, UnionPay** + per-country networks (e.g. BC Card Korea).

**Banking partners**: Thousands of issuing banks globally.

**Hardware**: Samsung Galaxy devices + Samsung wearables.

**Major competitors**:
- **[Apple Pay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/apple-pay)** (iOS-only NFC + tokenization; 624M+ global users).
- **[Google Pay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/google-pay)** (Android + iOS NFC + UPI India; 820M+ global users).
- Country-specific wallets: [KakaoPay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/kakaopay) + [Naver Pay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/naver-pay) + [Toss](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/toss) (KR), [Alipay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/alipay) + [WeChat Pay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/wechat-pay) (CN), [PayPay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/paypay) (JP), etc.

## Fun facts

- **August 2015 launch in South Korea** as Apple Pay's Android competitor.
- **Distinctive MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission)** — Samsung devices through ~2021 could pay at magnetic-stripe-only terminals; **no competitor offers this**.
- **MST discontinued in new Samsung devices ~2021**; **still active in South Korea** on post-2021 Galaxy devices.
- **8 out of 10 South Korean smartphone owners use Samsung Pay** — overwhelming home-market dominance (Samsung's home turf).
- **Mid-2024 brand consolidation**: Samsung Pay → Samsung Wallet.
- **40+ countries** Samsung Wallet availability vs 29 countries Samsung Pay.
- **40% APAC user share + 25% North America share** — Asia-Pacific dominance.
- **Galaxy device-tied** — like Apple Pay (iOS-tied), Samsung Pay is hardware-tied.
- **2025 South Africa + Turkey expansion** — continued geographic growth.

## Comparison

| Feature | Samsung Pay (Samsung Wallet) | [Apple Pay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/apple-pay) | [Google Pay](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/google-pay) | UnionPay (cards) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | **Samsung Electronics (KOSPI: 005930)** | Apple Inc. | Alphabet (Google LLC) | China UnionPay |
| Type | **Hardware-tied NFC + MST + EMV-tokenization** | Hardware-tied NFC + EMV-tokenization | Multi-device NFC + UPI India + EMV-tokenization | Card network |
| Hardware-tied | **Samsung Galaxy devices + wearables** | iOS devices only | Android (also iOS) | n/a (cards) |
| Countries | **29 (Samsung Pay) / 40+ (Samsung Wallet)** | 78+ | 45+ | Global card acceptance |
| MST | **Yes (South Korea, post-2024); distinctive** | None | None | n/a |
| South Korea share | **80% smartphone owners** | Limited | Limited | Limited |

## Status

**Active, Samsung Wallet consolidated** <sup>[1][1], [2][2]</sup>:
- **Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd**.
- **29 Samsung Pay countries + 40+ Samsung Wallet countries (2025)**.
- **8 out of 10 South Korean smartphone owners use Samsung Pay** (home-market dominance).
- **MST distinctive Samsung feature**; **discontinued in most countries mid-2024**; **still active in South Korea on post-2021 Galaxy devices**.
- **2025 South Africa + Turkey expansion**.

## Sources

[1]: https://coinlaw.io/samsung-pay-statistics/ "Samsung Pay Statistics 2025 — CoinLaw"
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Pay "Samsung Pay — Wikipedia"
[3]: https://electroiq.com/stats/samsung-pay-statistics/ "Samsung Pay Statistics — ElectroIQ"
[4]: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1464976/global-samsung-pay-adoption/ "Samsung Pay use by country — Statista"
[kr-cro]: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/KR

- [1] [Samsung Pay Statistics — CoinLaw][1]
- [2] [Samsung Pay — Wikipedia][2]
- [3] [Samsung Pay Statistics — ElectroIQ][3]
- [4] [Samsung Pay use by country — Statista][4]
- <sup>[Korea, Republic of report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/KR)</sup> In-corpus: `reports/countries/KR-south-korea.md`

## Source

Biography extracted from [samsung-pay.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/source/wallets/samsung-pay). See `matrix.md` for standards-support matrix if present.