Samsung has announced it is adding a new capability to its Wallet app in the United States. Starting later this month, users will find a Tap to Transfer feature that aims to make paying friends and family much quicker and easier.
This new peer-to-peer payment method uses NFC technology for close-range transfers. If the person you are paying also uses Samsung Wallet and has a debit card linked, you can simply tap your phone to theirs to initiate a transfer from your stored debit card. Interestingly, even if they do not use a digital wallet, you can still tap your Galaxy phone to their physical debit card if it supports contactless payment.
Samsung Wallet connects with the chip inside the card, similarly to paying in a store. For those who are not nearby but use Samsung Wallet, there is also an option to send money remotely by looking up their Samsung account with their phone number.
This new feature slots right into the Samsung Wallet app, which has become Samsung"s central place for various digital essentials on Galaxy devices. The current version of Samsung Wallet, bringing together the functions of the older Samsung Pay and Samsung Pass, was introduced back in June 2022. It initially rolled out in 8 countries, and expanded to Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan in January 2023.
Beyond handling payments, Wallet allows users to store digital keys for compatible cars and homes, manage digital IDs like student cards, keep track of loyalty programs, save boarding passes, and even store digital assets like cryptocurrency balances, all secured by Samsung Knox.
The core benefit Samsung is highlighting is speed and convenience. By facilitating transfers directly from a stored debit card using NFC or a remote lookup, it helps avoid the typical waits associated with standard bank transfers and skips the need to download and set up a separate peer-to-peer payment application. This direct integration is made possible through Samsung"s collaborations with payment networks Visa and Mastercard.