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Samsung's Galaxy S21 won't support MST for contactless payments in the US
And future Galaxy phones won't, either
There was some confusion at today's announcement whether or not Samsung's Galaxy S21 series of phones support MST for contactless payments. The technology allowed earlier Samsung devices to use wireless payments even at terminals that weren't configured with NFC, emulating a magnetic card stripe for the reader. Unfortunately for fans of the feature, Samsung confirms to us that the Galaxy S21 won't have MST in the US, and this loss of MST will apply to future phones as well.
This digital card from the guys behind Samsung Pay lets you tap to pay without your phone
Plus it's also a Bluetooth tracker
NFC payments are quick, easy, and less germy than swiping a card — but they aren't as widespread as one might think. Samsung uses magnetic secure transmission (MST) technology to make Samsung Pay available at almost any payment terminal around the world, even if the merchant doesn't support NFC platforms like Google Pay or Apple Pay. Now the people behind that tech are back with a new product that promises to simplify the payment process for everyone.
If you frequently use your laptop with more than one external display, there's a feature called MST (or Multi-Stream Transport) that conveniently allows you to use just one cable to connect them all to your computer, rather than two or three. Up until now Chrome OS hasn't supported MST, but based on a recent commit to the Chromium Gerrit, that could change.
One of the best low-key benefits of Samsung's Galaxy flagships is Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) payments, which allow you to use your phone for contactless payments at most credit card readers, as opposed to the NFC-based payments used by other digital wallets that require an explicitly compatible terminal. Samsung and Chase are now teaming up to bring that MST convenience to the Chase Pay app. Of course, a Chase card could be used for MST Payments via Samsung Pay before, but now the Chase Pay app gets that same direct convenience.
Samsung Pay launched in South Korea back in 2015, then expanded into the US, China, and more for a total of 19 official markets before today. Now, Samsung adds number 20: Mexico. You may be thinking, "didn't that already happen?" Well, apparently the appearance of the landing page last November was not the full launch.
Our neighbor up north, Canada, has had Samsung Pay for some time now, though the service has only just begun to expand there. Now it's our southern neighbor's turn; the MST-based mobile payment service has just hit Mexico.
Samsung Pay has existed for a few years, but the company has been slow to roll out support in Canada. Only one bank has had Samsung Pay in Canada so far, but now a handful of others are joining the fun. This expansion also brings support for debit cards in addition to credit cards.
Samsung Pay started with support for a subset of credit and debit cards when it launched almost two years ago. Over time, Samsung added new cards and banks to the service. Today, it's adding something that isn't a card—PayPal accounts. Plug in your account, and you can pay with PayPal anywhere Samsung Pay is accepted.
Samsung has been slowly but steadily adding new markets to Samsung Pay, which is now supported in more than a dozen countries. That includes a few new ones today. Residents of Sweden (previously in beta) and the UAE can start making payments today. There's also early access (i.e. a beta) for Samsung Pay in Hong Kong and Switzerland.
Samsung has been steadily adding more countries to its list of supported Samsung Pay markets — we just saw India get added not too long ago. The contactless payment service functions like the Apple and Android counterparts, but adds in the benefit of being able to work with older terminals via Magnetic Secure Transmission, which is especially awesome here in the U.S. But now, Sweden is getting Sammy's payment solution. It should be noted, however, that this is in beta for now.
Samsung is rolling out its payment platform in a new market today: Malaysia. If you've got a card with CIMB, Citibank, Maybank, or Standard Chartered, you may very well be able to add it today. It's not a for sure thing, though. As usual, there are some limitations.
Capital One is one of the last big banks holding out as everyone else (even tiny regional banks) gets on board with Samsung Pay and Android Pay. Today, it takes a step in the right direction. An update to Samsung Pay is rolling out that adds support for some Capital One credit cards.
Verizon was previously noncommittal about supporting Samsung's contactless payment solution, but the carrier has now confirmed on Twitter that Samsung Pay is coming. When? No one knows, but it will be delivered as part of a future software update. We all know how good Verizon is at getting software updates out in a timely fashion.
Samsung first talked about Samsung Pay when the Galaxy S6 was announced, but the service wasn't actually ready. Now it's all systems go for a September launch in the US. Samsung Pay will allow you to make wireless payments at almost any payment terminal that supports regular credit cards, and it's only compatible with Samsung's newer premium phones.
Samsung presentations always include a litany of buzzwords and redundant features, some of which are meaningless or borrowed directly from Google and Android, while others point to bigger aspirations. Today's announcement for the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge introduced a new feature called Samsung Pay, a direct competitor to Google Wallet and Apple Pay. Even though this is just one more product that attempts to have consumers replace their credit cards with a phone, it carries a distinct advantage over NFC-based alternatives: it also works with traditional credit card readers.