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In which countries does Samsung Pay operate? Why do some people think Samsung Pay is better than Apple Pay? What phones does Samsung Pay work on?

This week will mark the official launch of Samsung Pay, a service that was originally planned to be launched in Russia a year ago, but for various technical reasons this did not happen. Unfortunately, there are many myths surrounding such services, as well as misunderstandings about how they work, what they are needed for, what new they bring to the market, and whether they bring it. Let's together try to understand what Samsung Pay and similar systems are, what prospects this project has, and what you as a consumer can get. But first, it is necessary to outline the Russian banking market so that you understand with whom and how these systems will work.

Russian banking market – plastic cards and their owners

Look into your wallet or pocket, take out your bank cards and count how many of them are always with you, and how many are still put aside at home. I did this simple operation and found out that I had the following cards with me: the main card on which money is stored, a credit card with profitable cashback in some categories (both MasterCard cards), another ruble Visa card, which also provides cashback up to 5 % for any purchases. This is what I always have in my pocket. When I travel, I use additional cards to my main account; they are denominated in dollars and euros to avoid conversions or reduce them to one transaction. In total, it turns out that I have six cards, which I use more or less constantly.

For residents of large cities, the number of plastic cards ranges from 2 to 3, and if you take the whole country, then, according to the Central Bank of Russia as of July 1, 2017, there are almost 249 million of them (data can be viewed). There are only 30 million credit cards from this number, which can be considered a drop in the bucket.

Let's take a look at the report of the national payment card system for 2015, it contains a division of all cards by payment systems, MasterCard became the market leader - 49.4%, Visa takes second place - 44.7%, almost 6% of the market is accounted for by all the others combined.

Every year, the number of card transactions increases; if ten years ago, salary cards served only for people to withdraw money from them once a month, today this is no longer the case, and many consciously use plastic, as they understand its benefits. Often these are not the same cards on which employees receive their salaries, but the fact remains that people are no longer afraid of electronic money.

Contactless cards PayPass from MasterCard or PayWave from Visa have become something commonplace. For example, according to the latest data from Visa in Russia, 41% of those who use the system’s services own such cards. I am sure that MasterCard has a similar picture. This is a convenient and completely secure way to pay at terminals, when you do not need to insert a card, but simply touch the window and then enter a PIN code (if the amount exceeds the safe limit or the security settings are set this way).

According to various estimates, at the end of 2015, about 65-70 thousand POS terminals with NFC were installed in Russia, which can service contactless transactions.


It is impossible to say that contactless payments are something special. In the Moscow metro, terminals at the entrance already accept such cards; you just need to touch them or go through the turnstile, no need to buy anything additional. And it's very convenient.

Let's take a break from payment systems for a moment and count how many commercial banks there are in Russia. As of September 2016, there were 610, but row cleanings continue and their number may decrease in the near future. In fact, the top ten banks account for the main piece of the pie, and those who work with the population occupy the bulk of the cards; the undisputed leader here is Sberbank, followed by VTB (also VTB24), Alfa Bank, and then all the rest. For example, Raiffeisenbank is not among the top ten in terms of assets, but is the strongest player in the retail market based on its user base.

And literally the final touch. If MasterCard is not trying to somehow independently climb into the clearing of mobile payments, acting as a partner in the endeavors of other companies, then Visa is creating a system that should become an analogue of Apple Pay or Samsung Pay, following its own development path. This is important for understanding what is happening and how in this area. Having briefly outlined the situation with banks and cards in Russia in broad strokes, it’s time to move on to explaining what Samsung Pay is.

What is Samsung/Apple Pay and what are the differences between the systems

The greatest asset of any company in the 21st century is its consumers, the loyal base that purchases products and services. Technology has changed the world so much that sellers today can not only sell their main product, but also provide part of the audience with additional products or services that are not directly related to what the company does. For example, telecom operators create their own banks to service subscriber accounts, open cards together with payment systems, but store money in subscribers' current accounts rather than bank deposits. An example of such a service is a card project from MegaFon. A not entirely obvious product that has gained more than one hundred thousand users in a short time. This is an example of how a company uses the effect of a user base and “sells” a service that is not at all obvious at first glance.

The ideology of Samsung Pay, as well as Apple Pay, is very similar. In fact, this is exactly the same story of using your own user base and extracting additional profit from it. A distinctive feature of such projects is that they can never become larger than the company's core business. For example, in the case of mobile payment systems, this is impossible, since Apple or Samsung will not be able to install applications on all devices on the market, but only on their own. This means that the maximum penetration level in theory can be one hundred percent, but in practice it is also unattainable due to other restrictions.

People are ready to pay from their mobile devices, and many banking applications provide such opportunities, for example, Tinkoff on phones with NFC support allows you to do this for a long time; they were the first in Russia, along with the same MasterCard. An increasing number of banking applications allow you to do exactly the same thing.

In fact, banking applications do exactly the same thing as systems from Apple/Samsung. They store your card data electronically and encrypted, and are able to contact the payment system using the mobile Internet and confirm the payment. In this case, the terminal does not receive all your card data, but a temporary token, which, even if intercepted or lost, will not compromise your bank card. What started out as a story for online online payments at a time when data interception was a reality has suddenly become a key feature of modern systems. Both Samsung Pay and Apple Pay have a central, secure data storage that stores all your data about the cards or cards entered into the system. At the same time, this data is not on the device, but there is simply a copy of the card, which, by and large, cannot be stolen, since it is useless without being linked to the unique code of your device. This is an additional line of defense for the future. One can imagine that someone will learn to intercept data, but it will also be much more difficult to emulate the device number that is stored in the system.

The next step is entering data into the system. It's not enough to have the app on your iPhone or Samsung; your bank and payment processor also need to support the service. Firstly, all data about mobile devices is stored in a payment system, for example, MasterCard (and this is in addition to the fact that Apple has them). Companies agree on the format in which they exchange data; in fact, this is a separate protocol that is needed to ensure security as well as system functionality. Secondly, the payment is authorized in a bank that is connected to the payment system, and this already gives the go-ahead that the payment can be made. Everything happens exactly the same as when paying with a regular bank card. It doesn’t matter in what way, but you provide the card details, for example, by attaching it to the terminal, confirm the PIN code, and then the payment system contacts your bank and checks the account balance. If the terminal cannot connect to the bank, then the operation is indicated on the card, the available balance is reduced, and the operation takes place at the moment when the Internet becomes available in the terminal.

You don’t need any Internet to make payments via Samsung/Apple Pay, you can pay for purchases without a connection, the only drawback is that you won’t see a message about the transaction, it will come with the advent of the Internet. As you can see, this is an almost complete replica of how bank cards work. The only difference is that a conditional copy of your card is located in a smartphone or smartwatch; in the future it could be any device.

Hardware manufacturers charge banks a fee for payment, usually 0.15% in the case of Apple Pay (0.1-0.2% depending on the country for Samsung Pay). The bank, not the user, always pays for a transaction from a mobile device. This partly explains why cashback or other loyalty programs often do not work for mobile payments, since these payments generate a commission to the smartphone manufacturer.

Now let's look at another point, you lose the card. What happens to her impression on the phone? Absolutely nothing until you notify the bank that the card is lost and it will be blocked. From this moment on, the system will not be able to pay for anything; the card will also become blocked. You will have to enter new information when your card is reissued. If you decide not to report the loss, the card in your smartphone will continue to work as usual. But the security flaws outweigh the benefits, with one exception - if you leave the card at home and travel with its virtual version on your phone.

Another important point. When paying from a banking app, you log in either using a code or a fingerprint (the Galaxy Note 7 also has an iris). In my opinion, the fingerprint that you put on your phone is a very convenient, fast and easy way that is attractive. But it still doesn’t give you much of a speed boost; you pay for purchases with a contactless or regular card with a PIN code just as quickly, the difference is in seconds.

Now let's look at the features of Apple Pay. The system works only with contactless terminals (NFC), therefore, it can only be used in those points where there are corresponding POS terminals. Let me remind you that in Russia many chain coffee shops (Starbucks), fast food establishments (McDonalds) and simply modern stores and supermarkets are equipped with such terminals. In Moscow, in about half of the places I visit regularly, such POS terminals are present, in the regions everything is much sadder, they often simply do not exist.

The list of supported Apple devices is as follows: iPhone SE, iPhone 6, 6 Plus and later. Where the information came from that Apple Pay is supported starting with iPhone 5 is not very clear, since the company’s website states the opposite. The system can be configured on a number of iPads, which is not very interesting, as well as on Apple Watch (a mandatory requirement is to enable a password, which is often inconvenient, since there is no fingerprint scanner).


In Russia, the main partner of Apple Pay is Sberbank, the launch of the service is scheduled for October, perhaps the presentation will take place in the first days of this month. Apple Pay will only work with MasterCard cards, since it was not possible to reach an agreement with Visa. It is unclear when Visa will be added and whether it will participate in this project. The total volume of iPhones operating in Russia that support this technology is about two million devices (not sold, since more of them were sold; these are devices on networks that are used constantly). In Apple's presentations to banks, the figure is 4 million devices, but they take into account watches (this is a companion device, there is no point in counting it separately), tablets (I can hardly imagine a person in a store paying from a tablet every day), as well as all phone activations, but not constantly working devices. That is, even secondary activations of the same iPhone on the secondary market are considered as plus one device, which, in my opinion, is wrong. This is an artificial inflation of the base; live devices on networks need to be counted.

In addition to Sberbank, a number of major retail banks will be Apple Pay partners, all of which will happen with the support of MasterCard. You should not expect any difficulties or technical problems in the operation of the system; there are few pitfalls here.

Now let's look at Samsung Pay. In addition to payments using NFC, payments are supported at any terminal that can accept a card with a magnetic stripe and/or chip. The technology that allows this to happen is called MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission), developed by LoopPay, which Samsung bought in 2015. There is no need to scan your bank card, you simply enter it into the Samsung Pay program and then receive a “snapshot” of it. You only need one thing for your bank to work with the system. Just like in Apple Pay, banks must install special software, otherwise the system simply will not work. This is a general limitation, which explains why it is impossible to deposit any card; the support of the payment system and the bank is required.

The main partner of payment systems in Russia is MasterCard. Exactly the same situation as with Apple Pay, there is no Visa, it all comes down to their reluctance to support third-party solutions. The list of banks that support Samsung Pay is almost identical to those that are going to work with Apple Pay. At the start of the service, cooperation with the following banks will be announced: ALFA-BANK JSC, VTB 24 (PJSC), MTS PJSC, Raiffeisenbank JSC, Russian Standard Bank JSC. In addition to banks, the Yandex.Money payment system is involved. By the end of the year, Sberbank and a number of other banks will announce cooperation with the service. The division of banks at the first stage is virtual; everyone was choosing between Apple Pay and Samsung Pay from a PR point of view, what to announce on the market and with whom to go in this direction. But by the end of the year, the main players will have support for both systems. By the end of the year, the number of banks supported by Samsung Pay will be 15, and the service will potentially be available to 65% of all private depositors in the country, as well as 80% of the urban population. This is largely the merit of Sberbank and the main partners of this service.

Now about supported models from Samsung. These are Galaxy S6/S6 EDGE/EDGE+, S7/S7 EDGE, Note 5/7, Galaxy A5 (2016)/A7 (2016). At the beginning of September, the number of devices operating on networks was slightly more than a million units. The watch also supports Samsung Pay, but you can safely ignore them. The peculiarity of all phones that support this technology is that they have the KNOX system, which is necessary for security.

The second key point is that Samsung Pay is available not only on flagships or devices costing from 35 thousand rubles (iPhone SE), but also on inexpensive ones (the same A5 costs 25 thousand rubles). With the launch of the service, the number of mid-segment models supporting Samsung Pay will increase monthly, ultimately reaching at least 3.5-4 million units in 2017. In terms of the base of devices that will be in the hands of consumers, parity between Samsung Pay and Apple Pay will occur by the end of next year.

Does this mean Apple Pay will be the preferred system for mobile payments? Not at all. The ability to pay only at 70 thousand points versus a million points with regular POS terminals without NFC turns the situation exactly the opposite. Potentially, it will be possible to pay for services or goods from a Samsung phone in more places, which will expand the geography of the service throughout the country, to any location.

But all calculations are disingenuous, since we do not understand the most important thing, how exactly consumers will be encouraged to pay from a mobile phone in a particular system. For example, Apple Pay is different in that in no country in the world do they carry out marketing campaigns to attract people; as a rule, partners do this. At the same time, Samsung in the USA follows exactly the opposite policy: for activating the application together with Visa (in the USA Visa works with these systems!) They give $10 for expenses. In other countries, you can get bonuses in the form of discounts on accessories and services. I am sure that in 2017, Samsung’s marketing activity regarding its Pay system will be at a very high level, which will mean better knowledge of the system, at least a greater number of those who will try to use it out of curiosity. If one of the partner banks can create a motivation system, for example, the same cashback for purchases from a phone, then this could become a driving force for using a smartphone as a means of payment. As far as I know, MTS is conducting such research, but has not yet reached something formalized and understandable. It is MTS that can benefit from the presence of such a motivation system; here you can come up with very interesting scenarios. It is difficult to expect any activity from Apple Pay in this area; they are unlikely to choose Russia as a field for such experiments.

And just one figure to understand that by taking even a small bite from banks, you can get a lot - Samsung Pay in its native South Korean market reached a turnover of $1.77 billion. This is the company's home market, but there is already a developed banking system there, and this is just a demonstration that loyalty systems work and give a real response.

Bottom line

In the coming weeks, we are doomed to read news about the launch of Samsung Pay/Apple Pay, as well as which system is better. In my opinion, technically they are the same, plus or minus, just as they are supported in Russia by the same MasterCard, as well as by a set of banks. The only question is which phone is in your hands. I sincerely doubt that anyone will choose their next smartphone based on the support of this or that system; this is obviously stupid. In any case, until there are no motivation programs and cashback, which still cannot be something very special and different from those banking products that are already on the market.

My phone has two banking apps that allow NFC payments. But I have two cards from these banks in my pocket, which also allow me to pay with a touch. And I often use cards and almost never use my phone (out of curiosity, I paid like that a couple of times, that’s all). Will I use Samsung Pay? In case they give me not just the opportunity to pay from my phone, but something additional and it will be attractive. Otherwise, I don't see much difference with the card I already have.

Technical point - Samsung Pay will be launched in stages, first you can get into the service by invitation from your bank or from Samsung, then it will become available to everyone (the second will approximately happen in November). There is no competition as to who is first, since Apple Pay and Samsung Pay are each aimed at their own audience, those who have already made a choice in favor of one company or another. And once again I will repeat a simple thought, these services are basically the same, they just allow you to pay. I foresee a wave of excitement among Apple fans who will discover contactless payments for the first time, but all this has been on the market for a long time and has not made much of a revolution. It won’t happen now, we’ve just been given another way to spend money.

Amendments dated September 27. The Galaxy S6 model will not work in Russia with Samsung Pay. Also, on the Russian market, banks do not pay a commission for using the service; it is free for them, if you do not take into account the cost of implementation.

We tell, we explain on fingers.

Samsung Pay was launched in Russia at the end of September. And today I started supporting Visa cards. The competitor has finally matured, now the battle will be life and death.

We decided to find out if there is a difference between Samsung Pay and Samsung Pay. What devices are supported? And what goodies you can get for free using Samsung Pay in Russia.

Consider this post FAQ via Samsung Pay. Go. What are the differences?

1. Works on the best Samsung smartphones that are worth it

Today, the payment service of the South Korean company is supported by the following devices:

  • Samsung Galaxy S7
  • Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  • Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
  • Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016)
  • Samsung Galaxy Note5
  • Samsung Galaxy S6 edge (NFC only)
  • Samsung Galaxy S6 (NFC only)
  • Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+

For comparison:
The Apple payment system is supported by 8 gadgets: iPhone 6| 6 Plus, iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, iPhone 7| 7 Plus, Apple Watch (if you have any Apple smartphone starting with iPhone 5) and iPhone SE. In other words, the total number of compatible devices is comparable to the list of the American company.

2. Your card is already supported

Today, the Samsung Pay service is available for MasterCard and Visa cards. The following banks became partners:

– MasterCard cards:

  • Alfa Bank
  • Bank opening"
  • Russian Standard Bank
  • Bank "Saint-Petersburg"
  • BIN-Bank
  • VTB 24
  • MTS-Bank
  • Raiffeisenbank
  • Rocketbank
  • Sberbank
  • Tinkoff Bank
  • Dot
  • Yandex money

– Visa cards:

  • Alfa Bank
  • MTS-Bank
  • Raiffeisenbank

For comparison:
After its launch in Russia, Apple Pay worked exclusively for the first month only with MasterCard cards from Sberbank. Later, more people joined the system. Since mid-November, support for Visa cards from two banks has appeared: Alfa-Bank and Tinkoff. .

3. You can pay EVERYWHERE, Apple Pay can’t do that

The main feature of Samsung Pay is that the system works not only with terminals that support contactless payment (NFC technology).

Samsung uses its own technology – MST(from the English Magnetic Secure Transmission - magnetic secure transmission), allowing you to pay using a smartphone at almost any terminal that accepts bank cards.

The system can imitate the magnetic stripe of a card! Samsung smartphones that support MST technology create a magnetic field similar to the signal from the magnetic stripe of a bank card. The range of action is about 7–8 centimeters.

It was for this technology that Samsung acquired the company LoopPay, whose engineers implemented the idea of ​​MST.

For comparison:
Where Nikita was in his experiment with trying to pay for groceries using an iPhone #pshelvonmajor, Samsung Pay would do everything right. The payment system of the South Korean company gives the owner a sense of peace of mind; there is no need to peer at the payment terminal to see if there are “PayPass” and “PayWave” icons there. Samsung Pay works wherever bank cards are accepted.

MST is not supported by Samsung S6 edge| S6. However, this a very serious advantage over Apple Pay.

4. Payment is just as secure, if not safer.

The purchase is confirmed using a fingerprint. In other words, even if a smartphone is stolen, attackers will not be able to confirm payment without the fingerprint of the real owner of the device.

In addition, a three-level data protection system is used for security.

Firstly, "tokenization". Its essence is to replace the client’s real data (card number) with virtual ones. When activating a card for Samsung Pay, the real card number is replaced with a special digital random code. That is, when paying, personal information is not used, which means it remains protected.

Secondly, the built-in security system is called Samsung KNOX. Its purpose is to check the smartphone’s firmware before registering a new bank card and when using a payment service. If viruses are detected or Samsung firmware is modified, KNOX may block Samsung Pay.

If Root is detected on a smartphone, the payment system on the smartphone is completely blocked. Even resetting to original settings won't help. Harsh, but logical.

In addition, Samsung KNOX ensures that Samsung Pay data is protected regardless of the smartphone's operating system.

5. Set up is just as easy and supports everything

Samsung Pay settings are practically no different from those in the Apple product. You can enter card data manually or take a photo. Confirmation of a new card in the system occurs via SMS notification.

We opened the application, selected a card, and were identified using a fingerprint scanner. If necessary, enter the PIN code of the plastic card at the terminal. Profit!

The Samsung Pay service itself is provided at no additional cost.

6. And here, too, there are interesting offers for users

Using Samsung Pay you can take part in pleasant bonus promotions.

For example, in Moscow “Shokoladnitsa” there is a 50% discount on hot drinks, and “Kinokhod” offers free coupons for cinemas. Get cashback on your VTB24 card. In Samsung stores, using a branded payment service when paying, you can get a discount on branded accessories (15% on Gear Fit2, 15% on Gear VR, 30% on Level On Pro).

Eventually. Samsung Pay is more convenient than Apple Pay, period

Only with Samsung Pay can you pay for purchases EVERYWHERE in Russia. You don't need to look for contactless payment terminals. There is no need to arrange weekly tests, as Nikita did, and limit yourself in possibilities. The only exceptions are terminals that require inserting a card and do not support NFC, and an external magnetic stripe card reader is also not available.

Just bring the phone to the magnetic reader - and you're done. It couldn't be simpler. This is what payment from a smartphone should look like in 2016.

It's a shame Apple can't do that. But Samsung are handsome, and that’s the point. Learn, there in Cupertino!

BINBANK cards are also supported, but only those issued under the name MDM Bank. Support for new maps will be implemented later.

How Samsung Pay works

Payment is very simple. To pay, just open the application by swiping up and bring your phone to the bank terminal, confirming the purchase. All user data is stored in encrypted form, and information about virtual cards is transmitted to the terminal, which allows you to keep real data safe. No commission is charged.

What devices does Samsung Pay support?

Naturally, only owners of Samsung devices can use this system. But not all of the company’s gadgets support the payment system.

What devices is Samsung Pay supported on:

  • Galaxy S line (from series 6*);
  • Galaxy A line 2016 (A5 and A7);
  • Galaxy A line 2017;
  • Galaxy Note 5;
  • Gear S3.

* — Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge support payment only using NFC technology. Payment via MST is not available on these models.

The payment system will not work on other devices, as well as on those from this list that were purchased in another country. There is no point in wondering how to connect Samsung Pay to smartphones with Root rights or unofficial firmware, because... There is no such option and there never will be due to the lack of security on these devices.

How to set up Samsung Pay

How to install Samsung Pay? There is no need to install a special application. If the device supports this payment system, then the application that is necessary to use it is included in the basic set and is in the list of all applications installed on the device. If your device is supported but the Samsung Pay icon is not there, follow these steps:

  1. Add .
    1. Go to “Settings”, then to the “accounts” section.
    2. Click "Add Account". Select “Samsung account” from the list provided.
    3. Log in to your account or register by filling out all the required fields, and also confirm your registration in a letter that will be sent to your email.
  2. Check for updates for your device.
    1. Enter “Settings”, find the “About device” section, in which you should select “Software Update” and click on “Update”.
    2. If there are updates, confirm their installation and wait until the process is completed.

After this, the application icon should appear. If this does not happen, you should contact Samsung service center or technical support.

When all the necessary steps have been completed, all that remains is to configure the application.

How to set up Samsung Pay:

  1. Launch the application.
  2. Add your fingerprint or create a passcode to confirm purchases.
  3. Click on the map symbol or the “add” button.
  4. Take a photo of the card or enter all the data manually.
  5. Click “Next” and accept the agreement.
  6. Press the SMS button. Enter the code that will come in the message and click “Send”.
  7. Enter your signature on the screen.

Registration will be completed within 10 minutes. If this does not happen, and the card is supported, then you should contact the bank, because He is the one who does the blocking. It is possible that the card has restrictions that do not allow it to be used in such payment systems.

How to use Samsung Pay

How to set up Samsung Pay may be the most important question, but it’s not the only one. You also need to know how to use Samsung Pay.

How to pay for your purchase:

  1. Swipe your finger across the smartphone screen from the home key up.
  2. When the card image appears on the screen, bring the device to the payment terminal.
  3. Confirm payment.
  4. You can remove the device from the terminal as soon as the second one establishes a connection with the bank, as evidenced by the inscription on its screen.

If you lose your smartphone, all data can be quickly and easily deleted using the company's special Find My Mobile service. If necessary, you can delete all information manually by performing a general reset.

Relatively recently, a new payment service from the global digital technology brand Samsung appeared on the domestic market. This technology was not the first; the Android Pay mobile application was released before it. An important feature of the new development is the presence of a universal MST microchip, capable of simulating a magnetic stripe from a bank card. The combined action of such a module with NFC makes it possible to pay in almost any store contactless. In the article we will talk about Samsung MST and the areas for its application.

What kind of technology is this

MST technology is promising and has become widespread in the financial sector. It allows the consumer to complete a transaction in a contactless manner by simply holding their mobile device to the POS reader to make a purchase. The difference from NFC is that the MST module is capable of simulating a signal from a magnetic tape on a bank card.

The joint work of these two chips greatly simplifies the user's life. Now you can buy goods in any store, even if the terminal is not equipped with NFS and only accepts credit cards with a magnetic stripe. The exception is remote regions of the country where only cash is accepted.

This technology is available only to owners of mobile devices from the manufacturer Samsung. The transaction procedure is as simple as possible; you just need to bring your smartphone to the terminal and receive a receipt. Please note that this feature has been developed relatively recently and is only available for certain developer models. Unfortunately, gadgets released before 2016 are not equipped with a microchip.


Let's consider the advantages of such a module and contactless payment:

  1. High level of security. The transfer of information occurs at a minimum distance, just a few centimeters, and the duration will be no more than a couple of seconds.
  2. It's comfortable. You no longer need to carry a wallet, cash or bank cards with you.
  3. High speed of information exchange between receiver and transmitter.
  4. The MST module does not require large amounts of electrical energy and saves battery power.

What phones does this function work on?

This technology appeared on the domestic market relatively recently, so the contactless payment function via the MST access chip is only available for certain models from the manufacturer Samsung. Currently, every new mobile device is equipped with an MST and NFS transmitter. You can view the list on the manufacturer’s official portal at any time.


The module is installed on the following smartphone models:

  • line of S devices, starting from the sixth version;
  • a series of mobile phones A5, A6, A7, which were released after 2016;
  • Samsung Galaxy Note 5.

All of the listed smartphones have both NFS and MST support microchips in their design.

How to use for payment

Now let's move on to conducting a transaction in the store. To make a contactless purchase, you will need:


There are a number of restrictions and operating conditions for the Samsung Pay service that should be taken into account:

  1. The mobile device must have the latest version of the software installed, which must be updated promptly. Pirated firmware is not allowed.
  2. The user must have a registered account in the Samsung Account service and a personal identifier. Otherwise, you need to create a new one.
  3. The bank card you add to the application must be issued by a partner banking organization.


Where can you pay with MST?

Don't worry about paying in a regular store. You can make a purchase at any establishment that uses a PayPass and PayWave terminal, even on outdated equipment that accepts credit cards with a magnetic stripe, you can successfully make a payment thanks to MST technology. To do this, just bring it to the reader. Currently, such terminals are installed in almost every store, even in street markets. The only exceptions are the most remote settlements, where cash is still in use, but this is only a matter of time.


A mobile application, a virtual wallet, is a universal tool for conducting contactless transactions. Samsung Pay has the following advantages compared to analogues in the domestic market:

  1. Ease of use. The payment procedure takes place in a matter of seconds.
  2. The ability to pay for purchases in any establishment, cafes and restaurants, as well as in public transport.
  3. You can add up to 10 credit cards and an unlimited number of bonus and discount cards to your virtual wallet.
  4. Saves space in your pocket. Everything you need is in your mobile device.
  5. Safety. Information is exchanged within a small radius, which prevents the interception of personal data. Each purchase requires approval by the owner by scanning a fingerprint.
  6. A transaction worth more than 1000 rubles requires you to enter a security PIN code.

Among the shortcomings, only one can be highlighted - a limited number of models that support the contactless payment function.


The article examined in detail the operating features of mobile devices from the global brand Samsung, equipped with an MST transmitter. This unique technology helps reduce the time it takes to pay for goods in almost any store in Russia and abroad. Currently, the MST microchip is installed only in a limited list of models, so when purchasing a smartphone, carefully study the technical specifications.

Taking into account the popularity and prevalence of payment technologies based on NFC and imitation of a magnetic signal - MST, we, in the team of the payment provider Fondy, are publishing a post that describes the mechanism of operation of these solutions: from point A (interaction with the payment terminal) to point B (execution of the transaction ).

According to the results of Yandex, the main question of users on the topic of NFC remains “What is NFC and how to learn to use it?” This contrasts greatly with Google, where the question is different. They already know what NFC is - NFC is available in every household. The question is how to apply what is given? What can you do using NFC? What should the average non-advanced user do with near-field technology?

To get you started, here is a list of several smart devices that are NFC compatible: Nexus 6, Sony Xperia Z3, iPhone 6/7, Samsung Galaxy Note 4, LG G3, HTC One M9. For those who like to study and compare devices, here is the complete list.

Very soon, NFC chips will be built into smartphones from all manufacturers, and even fitness trackers will be NFC-based. Apple uses this technology in the Apple Watch, and now you can pay for goods using Apple Pay with a wave of your hand.

This is what reading a card with an EMV chip looks like:

Why was the excursion into EMV made? To clearly show that with the advent of NFC, almost all previous steps (actions) had to be somehow repeated, replicated, transferred to a phone or other contactless device.

Next we will talk about what TSM and SecureElement are, which make NFC transactions more secure. After all, if the card is not emulated in the phone using HCE (HostCardEmulation), then the data needs to be stored somewhere. SecureElement is busy solving this problem.

OTA - remote control of security elements.

TSM - TrustedServiceManager - a unique intermediary that owns the keys. It is a hardware and software complex that provides technological relationships between telecom operators and service providers.

Key trusted third party services include secure loading and security element content management performed in collaboration with mobile service providers. These may be banks, transport companies, service providers and aggregators. Remote application management, typically performed using over-the-air (OTA) cellular technologies, involves installing and personalizing applications within the mobile phone's security element, as well as continuing to maintain installed applications throughout their lifecycle, as well as service support. You can read more about the role and place of TSM in the NFC ecosystem.

SecureElement - a secure element in an NFC device - data placed in the device's wallet. This is a separate microprocessor responsible for the secure storage and operation of Mastercard Mobile PayPass/VisaPayWave payment applications. Either it is built-in (installed on the phone’s motherboard), or it is placed on a detachable module: UICC SIM card/SD memory card.

For a more clear understanding of the daily use of the TSM platform, let’s quote an excerpt from the MTS press release dated March 3, 2014:

“With the advent of the TSM platform, the last infrastructure limitation on the path of mass development of NFC services in Russia is removed - we will receive a connecting link in the NFC ecosystem, a single “entry point” for quickly connecting a wide range of service providers... For the user, our new technical complex makes it possible to quickly and secure download “over the air” directly to the SIM card of an electronic image of bank and transport cards, travel tickets, loyalty cards, passes. Soon, it will be enough for an MTS subscriber to receive an NFC-enabled SIM card at an MTS salon once in order to subsequently issue duplicate plastic bank cards without visiting a bank or buy travel tickets and receive discount coupons without going to points of sale. And all this will fit in one smartphone, surrounded by a user-friendly interface with complete information about all available contactless cards.”

Now you can compare notes and see how well your plans panned out. Technologically they were very justified. A lot has been achieved.