Samsung Wallet launches tap transfer for Galaxy phones

(Samsung Electronics)

Samsung Electronics is set to introduce a new “tap transfer” feature to its Samsung Wallet service, allowing users to transfer money by simply tapping the tops of their Galaxy smartphones together. This is the first time such a service has been offered in South Korea, with Samsung Wallet currently boasting over 17 million users in the country.

According to sources on Wednesday, Samsung recently announced the new feature through a public notice, stating that the tap transfer service will officially launch on October 10th, 2024. The service will enable Galaxy smartphone users to transfer money between accounts by placing their devices near each other. The feature will be available on all Galaxy smartphones that support Samsung Wallet and will require a series of security authentication steps within the app to activate it.

But the list of banks supporting tap transfer is limited to Woori Bank. The update for this feature will also be rolled out gradually to Samsung Wallet users, although Samsung plans to expand the number of participating banks.

Industry watchers are optimistic about the added convenience this feature will bring to Samsung Wallet users, with some suggesting it could reduce the number of errors in account number entries, which often lead to misdirected transfers. Samsung has been actively enhancing its mobile payment services, having rebranded Samsung Pay to Samsung Wallet in March 2024. The wallet now includes features like mobile driver’s licenses and national veterans’ IDs, both of which carry the same legal validity as physical IDs. These digital IDs were even used to verify voters’ identities during the 22nd National Assembly election in April.

Beyond banking, Samsung Wallet supports a variety of digital services, from airline and bus tickets offered by partner companies to electronic certificates and mobile student IDs.