The ‘Samsung Pay’ is Now Available to Visa Cardholders in South Africa

With today’s launch of Samsung Pay, Visa account holders in South Africa can now use their compatible Samsung smartphones for contactless purchases worldwide. Cardholders can add their Visa credit, cheque and debit cards quickly and easily to the Samsung Pay wallet to make secure payments at both contactless and non-contactless payment terminals. Samsung Pay is now available to Visa cardholders who bank with Absa Bank.

Samsung Pay uses Visa Token Service technology to replace the consumer’s sensitive account information with a different series of numbers – a “token” – that is specific to that card and device. Payments are made using the token so that the card information is never exposed, adding another layer of safety to digital payments. If the phone is compromised or stolen, the token cannot be used in any other environment and can easily be deactivated without requiring the account to be cancelled.
Geraldine Mitchley, Head of Digital Solutions for Visa in Sub Saharan Africa, commented: “We are thrilled to expand mobile payment options for Visa cardholders in South Africa. Today’s launch of Samsung Pay gives Visa cardholders a mobile payment solution that is further strengthened by the security of Visa Token Service technology and which enables safe and easy contactless in-store payments with their Samsung mobile. Considering the number of smart phone users in South Africa is expected to reach over 25 million by 2022[1], we are seeing that the phone is the one item people always have with them and Visa supports payment solutions that fit people’s changing lifestyles.”
Samsung Pay works almost anywhere you can swipe, insert or tap a card, so as the first country in Africa to implement this, we are thrilled to partner with Visa to bring Samsung Pay to South Africa. We are further excited about how it’s going to transform our customers’ lives”, says Craige Fleischer, Vice President of Integrated Mobility for Samsung South Africa. “Samsung Pay is committed to driving the mobile wallet movement in Africa, and this launch furthers Samsung’s dedication to delivering innovative services to consumers everywhere.” adds Fleischer.
 
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Visa in Samsung Pay
To pay with Samsung Pay, simply swipe up on the phone’s screen to select your Visa card of choice and confirm the payment via fingerprint, iris scan or PIN. To complete the payment, simply tap the Samsung Galaxy smartphone on any contactless enabled POS terminals or hold the Samsung Galaxy smartphone next to the payment terminal where you would normally swipe your payment card, if the payment terminal is not contactless, to make a contactless payment with your Visa card. Payments are confirmed immediately with a message sent to the Samsung device. Merchants do not need to update their terminals to accept payments with Samsung Pay nor will there be any additional cost for the merchant or the Visa cardholder since the transaction is a Visa card transaction.
Samsung Pay* can be used to tap and pay almost anywhere a Visa debit or credit card is accepted.
*Samsung Pay is available in South Africa for the following devices: Galaxy Note 9, Note 8, S9+, S9, S8+, S8, S7 Edge, S7, A8 and A7 (2017 Edition). Galaxy A5 (2017 Edition) will be supported in September 2018.