Samsung Pay Is Now Live In India

Samsung Electronics announced Wednesday (March 22) that Samsung Pay is now available in India.

In a press release, Samsung said customers in India can make easy and secure payments via Samsung Pay. The company said it can be used to make purchases almost everywhere digital payments are supported. Samsung also announced it has integrated Paytm, the leading payment service in India and Unified Payments Interface, the government’s payment service, into the Samsung Pay app. It has also created a digital payment ecosystem by partnering with issuers and card networks including Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI Cards and Standard Chartered Bank. Citibank India is a forthcoming issuer, and its credit cards will be live on Samsung Pay shortly, the company said.

“Samsung Pay is an example of how we continue to push the boundaries of innovations to make life simpler and better for consumers. I am confident Samsung Pay will redefine digital payments and contribute to Digital India,” said HC Hong, president and CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia.

Samsung Pay works with Samsung’s patented magnetic secure transmission (MST) technology as well as with near-field communication. MST replicates a card swipe by wirelessly transmitting magnetic waves from the supported Samsung device to a standard card reader. Through MST, Samsung pay will work seamlessly on a majority of point-of-sale terminals in India, Samsung Electronics said.

“When we launched Samsung Pay, our goal was to enable consumers across the globe to make payments that are simple, secure and accepted almost everywhere. Over the past year-and-a-half, this vision has evolved into building a complete digital wallet solution, allowing customers worldwide to not only make payments but also use membership and transit cards, receive deals and rewards and more,” said Thomas Ko, vice president and global GM of Samsung Pay, in the same press release.