Samsung started discussing the launch of its mobile payments platform, Samsung Pay, with the Payments Association of South Africa (PASA) at last two years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe big question for us was whether there would be any changes to the existing rules we have in place for card payments,\u201d said PASA CEO Walter Volker.<\/p>\n
For instance, PASA has certain requirements for different cardholder verification methods. These vary depending on whether chip and PIN, a contactless tap-and-go payment, or a swipe with signature is used.<\/p>\n
Samsung Pay can use biometrics for security, and PASA had to see whether this needed to be accommodated into the existing verification method regime.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe accept that the biometrics are secure, but we had to check,\u201d said Volker.<\/p>\n
When the Samsung Pay system is distilled into its simplest form, though, it behaves similarly to existing card payments.<\/p>\n
It supports the same contactless technology banks are rolling out in their cards, and has the ability to mimic the swipe of a magnetic stripe on the back of card for the instances where tap-and-go payments are not available.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Samsung Pay] runs off the back of the card system \u2013 we call it the card rails \u2013 by using the existing Visa and Mastercard system,\u201d said Volker.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of using the card, the card credentials are stored in the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Samsung Pay implemented existing technologies in an innovative way, it was therefore possible to evaluate it in terms of the rules already in place.<\/p>\n
Early access<\/strong><\/p>\n Now, Samsung Pay is available in South Africa to Samsung device owners.<\/p>\n Currently in\u00a0early access<\/strong><\/a>, two banks have signed on as launch partners for the mobile payment platform \u2013\u00a0Absa<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Standard Bank<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n The following Samsung devices currently support Samsung Pay in South Africa: Galaxy Note 8, the Galaxy S7, S8 and S9 ranges, the Galaxy A8, and the 2017 editions of the Galaxy A5 and A7. The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 will also be supported when it launches locally.<\/p>\n Samsung has also launched\u00a0promotions<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to encourage the uptake of the platform by South Africans.<\/p>\nHow Samsung Pay works<\/h3>\n