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| Developer(s) | Samsung Electronics |
|---|---|
| Initial release | June 24, 2022 |
| Operating system |
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| Type | Mobile app |
| Website | samsung.com/us/samsung-wallet |
Samsung Wallet (Korean: 삼성 월렛) (or simply Wallet) is a digital wallet platform developed by Samsung. It is available for the Samsung Galaxy-exclusive One UI Android operating system, and was announced on February 9, 2022, at the February 2022 Samsung Unpacked event. It combines both Samsung Pay and Samsung Pass.[1]
The "Samsung Wallet" brand name was first used for the company's mobile wallet system of the same name, which was introduced in 2013 before being migrated into a new app called Samsung Pay in 2015.[2] Samsung Wallet now contains the Samsung Pay service for payment cards, alongside other features such as cryptocurrency assets and digital credentials. Although in South Korea both the service and the app are still known as Samsung Pay.
Samsung Wallet allows users to store items such as payment cards, loyalty cards, boarding passes, digital keys, and vaccination cards.[3] It replaces the old Samsung Pay app on Android-powered Galaxy devices and is currently available in Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Vietnam, UAE, the U.K. and the U.S.[4][5]
Samsung Wallet also supports a variety of transit cards, such as T-money and cashbee in South Korea, as well as Octopus in Hong Kong. However, due to the region-specific nature of Samsung Wallet, users from other regions are not able to utilize these transit cards from their own devices.[6]
| Feature | Android | Wear OS | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay with EMV payment cards via Samsung Pay | 
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| Store government identifications |
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For Wear OS:
Samsung has stated that support for the Galaxy Watch will be coming soon.[7] |
| Store campus identifications |
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For Android:
Campus identifications can still be utilized for up to 24 hours for 15 scans after the device's battery has depleted.[7] |
| Store transit cards |
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Partial | |
| Store coupons |
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| Store memberships |
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| Store boarding passes |
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| Store digital keys |
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For Android:
Car keys can still be utilized for up to 24 hours for 15 scans after the device's battery has depleted.[7] |
| Store company identifications |
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For Android:
Company IDs can still be utilized for up to 24 hours for 15 scans after the device's battery has depleted.[8] |
As of 2024, car keys, transit cards, campus IDs, and company IDs are supported types of cards that can be used with Fast Mode. However, Samsung limits some passes if they are the same type or from the same issuer from being used with Fast Mode. For example, a user can only have one campus ID and one car key each set to Fast Mode. This can be mitigated in a sense by using a Galaxy Watch to split the Fast Mode passes between multiple devices. Payment cards can also be used without prior authentication on select transit systems, though that mode is called "Tap & Pay."[9] [7]
Fast Mode cards can be used up to five hours via power reserve after the device has powered off due to a drained battery. The ability to retain usage after battery depletion is not available for any Galaxy Watch model.
Samsung Wallet has a passes feature, which exists in a larger ecosystem. Passes are presented in the Menu tab of the app, or can be added to the Quick Access tab. Developers must first be granted access as a Samsung Wallet Partner to the Samsung Wallet Cards API before they can author such items.[10]
An interaction (or transaction) between a pass and a system is facilitated by a 1D or 2D code, although it requires the customer to initiate the activity. Passes can also contain nothing but plain text or an image.
As of June 2022, Samsung Wallet supports memberships (loyalty cards), gift cards, health passes, and boarding passes. Memberships specifically also allow for users to create their own custom pass.[11]
In August 2023, Samsung Wallet came to Wear OS for the first time with the launch of the Galaxy Watch6 with partial functionality of the Android app. Tickets, loyalty cards, gift cards, health passes, and boarding passes were supported at launch. Campus IDs began to be supported in September.
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Main article: List of campus identifications in mobile wallets |
These home locks & car models can be unlocked via NFC with select Galaxy devices running Android 12 & later for car keys, or Android 11 or later for home keys, most notably the Galaxy S20 or later. In addition, certain car models that support operation via UWB (AKA "passive entry") require an UWB compatible device, such as the Galaxy Z Fold2 & later, or Plus/Ultra models of Galaxy S21 & later devices, for enhanced functionality.[12][7]
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Main article: List of digital keys in mobile wallets |
11 types of electronic certificates and IDs issued by the Government of the South Korea via the Government24 service are supported by Samsung Wallet. These credentials are presented via a QR code.[13]
These territories allow their residents to save their government-issued identification credentials in Samsung Wallet. Once the credential is read, the ID holder must confirm the personal information they wish to share (full name, age, etc.) Users have a choice whether to present via either NFC or QR code. The transmission to the reader device will be completed over BLE after the presentation is fully verified. Samsung has also announced plans for added credentials to be able to be requested by apps to present virtually in 2024.[14]
