Digital wallets are becoming increasingly common, with Apple, Google, Samsung, and others working to adopt the technology. With a digital wallet on your device you can unlock and start your car, display identification, make payments or any type of transaction online, and more.
Today, Samsung is introducing a digital wallet, it calls Samsung Wallet and claims, is “an easy-to-use, secure platform that holds everything your digital life needs.”
Jeanie Han, EVP and Head of Digital Life, MX Business at Samsung Electronics led the press release, noting that the mobile wallet app combines the Samsung Pay, its mobile payment service for storing payment cards and vaccine records, and Samsung Pass, which manages passwords and login information for apps and websites.
The announcement comes just as Google recently announced a similar revamp to its Wallet app, while Apple is adding new features to the Apple Pay.
And so, as Android users wait for the new Google Wallet app/update to grace their phones, Samsung now has its own digital wallet revamp arriving on Galaxy smartphones bringing a comprehensive digital wallet experience.
“Samsung Wallet gives users a refined interface and one-swipe access to their payment cards, loyalty and membership cards and more,” the Korean company say. It also incorporates the functionality of Samsung Pass which securely stores passwords and enables users to quickly and easily log into apps and services. It even helps users quickly monitor their digital asset portfolio by checking the value of their cryptocurrencies across various exchanges in one place.
Also in the announcement, Samsung notes that the new digital wallet will begin to support official IDs, such as mobile driver’s licences and student IDs.
Samsung spoke about the new digital wallet at its Unpacked event which took place in February this year. The company mentioned that Galaxy users in the listed six countries will get first-hand access to use the new digital wallet but first have to migrate from their Samsung Pay or Samsung Pass apps. Eligible smartphones must be Samsung Pay-enabled Galaxy phones running Android 9 Pie or later.
The company notes that Samsung Wallet is protected by Samsung Knox. Safeguards include fingerprint recognition and encryption to protect users’ sensitive data. Samsung also notes that certain sensitive key items in Samsung Wallet are stored in an isolated environment called the embedded “Secure Element” to help protect against digital and physical hacking.
According to Han, “Samsung Wallet is bringing a new level of everyday convenience to mobile devices with a totally safe and secure environment for storing digital keys, cards and more.”
“As part of our ongoing commitment to open ecosystems, we will continue to expand on the capabilities of Samsung Wallet by working closely with our trusted partners and developers.”
