Samsung Pay vs. Google Pay: 5 Must-Know Facts
- The NFC technology was designed for users to link their bank details, credit or debit cards, or any virtual wallet to make payments securely and efficiently.
- Google Pay was first launched in 2015 and was formerly known as Android Pay.
- Google Pay is built with layers of encryption to ensure a secure NFC.
- Samsung Pay is designed exclusively for Samsung users.
- Every purchase you make while using Samsung Pay allows you to earn points, which you can accumulate and use to make any other purchases.
Samsung Pay and Google Pay are currently the most popular contactless payment options to serve users’ payment needs. This payment terminal, known as near-field communication (NFC) technology, was especially helpful throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, which brought about reasons to suspect the next person to be a bearer of the virus. Guiding measures were set: do not share materials, avoid hugs, sanitize your hands, and so forth.
Moreover, the era of moving around with wads of cash is gradually rolling away. You can merely use your credit card to make your transactions. But what happens when you forget or misplace your wallet and don’t have your credit card?
To avoid getting stranded, you can use NFC technology to set up your bank details, credit or debit card, PayPal account, etcetera, on your phone. By using any of these, you can check out at a retailer by tapping your phone on the card reader instead of inserting a credit card.
Samsung Pay and Google Pay are fantastic options to do just that.
In this guide, we’ll give you a full breakdown of the two so you can decide which is best for you.
Samsung Pay vs. Google Pay: A Side-by-Side Comparison
| Samsung Pay | Google Pay | |
|---|---|---|
| Accepted Payment Type | Credit or debit card, PayPal, or bank account | Credit or debit card, PayPal, or bank account |
| Compatible Device | Available for Samsung devices only | Available for both Android and Apple devices |
| Smartwatch Compatibility | Available for Samsung Galaxy Watch only | Compatible with WearOS |
| Magnetic Secure Transmission | Not available | Able to pay with older card readers with a magnetic stripe |
| Rewards | Coupons and cashback offers in-app for Samsung products purchases | Coupons and cashback offers in-app |
| Data Security | Secured by Knox by Samsung. Uses tokenization and constantly monitors your device for threats | Secured by Google with multiple layers of encryption. Does not share payment info with merchants |
©Proxima Studio/Shutterstock.com
Google Pay: What is it?
Google Pay, formerly known as Android Pay, was first launched in 2015 and is owned and developed by Google.
It is a digital wallet platform and online payment system which empowers in-app and tap-to-pay purchases on mobile devices. Further, this enables users to make payments with Android phones, tablets, or watches that are supported and uses NFC.
Google Pay is an online payment app that offers flexible one-tap payment, which you can use on multiple devices. Further, the Google Pay Android app was updated in 2020, promising rewarding features.
Although, Google Pay is built with layers of encryption to ensure a secure NFC. However, to enjoy using Google Pay on your Android phone, you need to activate a secure lock screen or biometrics like fingerprint scanning on your device.
This helps to secure your transactions. Hence, we recommend having these features on your Android phone regardless of your mobile payment usage. After unlocking, tap your phone on the payment terminal, and your preferred card will beam over.
Google Pay is fashioned to run with both Android and Apple, so both Android and iPhone users can enjoy the ease of use of Google Pay.
However, Google Pay has one limitation—it only works at stores with NFC enabled on the payment terminals. That used to be exceedingly rare, but it’s gotten more widespread in the last few years, especially during the pandemic.
Samsung Pay: An Overview
Samsung Pay is a payment app that has been designed exclusively for Samsung phones. The app offers swipe-up payment options straight from your home screen and lock screen so you can instantly pay on the go.
One of the best things about using Samsung Pay is that it comes with Samsung Rewards, which allows you to earn points on every purchase you make while using the app. After you have accumulated the points, you can later redeem them to make any other purchases on the Samsung app or on Samsung’s official website. A feature like this can help you save money every time you go shopping.
However, users have reported one of the drawbacks of using Samsung Pay. When recognizing NFC readers, the app can be very slow, which can be annoying for some. This is unlike Google Pay, which is almost always instant the moment you put it over the terminal.
©TY Lim/Shutterstock.com
Samsung Pay vs. Google Pay: Which One Is Better? Which One Should You Use?
From most users’ experiences and feedback, it can be deduced that Google Pay offers you plenty of enjoyable features, primarily due to its redesign.
Should you plan to get a Samsung device because of Samsung Pay, it might be disappointing or not worth it.
The proliferation of NFC technology means you will get plenty of use out of Google Pay, and Samsung has dropped the Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) tech from its latest phones. For this and other reasons highlighted in their features, Google Pay is the best option for your payment unless you already have a Samsung phone.
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