Samsung is expanding what Galaxy owners can do with Samsung Wallet in South Africa, adding Scan to Pay as another way to make payments from a Galaxy smartphone.
The new feature, provided by EFT Corporation, brings QR code payments directly into Samsung Wallet. When a participating merchant presents a supported QR code, users can open Wallet, scan the code and confirm the payment from their phone. Samsung says the option can be used both in stores and when a QR code is presented as an online payment method.
QR payments are already familiar to plenty of South Africans, particularly through banking and fintech apps. Samsung’s addition is useful because it puts another payment option inside an app Galaxy owners may already be using for their cards, rather than asking them to open a separate payment service at checkout.
How Scan to Pay works in Samsung Wallet
Samsung has kept the process fairly simple. When a compatible QR code is available, users need to:
- Open Samsung Wallet.
- Scan the QR code.
- Confirm the payment.
The transaction can then be authenticated and completed without presenting a physical bank card.
The Scan to Pay network already has a sizeable footprint in South Africa. According to Samsung, it can be used at more than 600,000 acceptance locations around the country and has more than 19 million app inclusions across banking, fintech and other financial services applications.
That existing network makes the Samsung integration considerably more useful than launching a QR payment system that merchants would first have to adopt. Galaxy users are instead being given access to payment infrastructure that is already widely deployed.
Samsung is building more into Wallet
Samsung has gradually been turning Wallet into something closer to the digital equivalent of the physical wallet it wants to replace, bringing payment and other everyday functions into one place.
Zahir Cajee, MX Lead: Product and Commercial at Samsung South Africa, says that approach is driven by how customers actually use Galaxy devices.
“Samsung doesn’t just focus on tech and AI innovation for Galaxy users,” Cajee said, adding that the company intends to continue adding practical functionality to Samsung Wallet.
Payments made through Scan to Pay are protected by Samsung Knox, with biometric authentication available to approve transactions.
It isn’t the kind of Samsung announcement that arrives with a new phone, an enormous launch event or several minutes devoted to AI. But payment features are useful precisely because they disappear into everyday behaviour. If you’re already using Samsung Wallet, having QR payments sitting alongside your existing payment cards means one less reason to leave it when you reach the till.
Scan to Pay is available now within Samsung Wallet for supported payments at participating locations.