Quote:
Originally Posted by ZodWallop
Google Pay does the same and is available for all Android phones. You have to have an NFC chip to actually pay (likely the same restriction you noticed when you mentioned 'high end Samsung Galaxy phones'), but it's not needed to scan loyalty cards, etc.
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Samsung Pay is different from (better than) Google/Android Pay or Apple Pay. All three can use NFC, but Samsung alone has patented MST (Magnetic Strip Technology), which can also be used at any terminal with a magnetic strip reader, including very ancient ones.
Samsung Galaxy phones have had NFC since at least the S2 (four years older than the S6), so it's not just NFC that is needed for Samsung Pay to work its magic.
Like I said, there seems to be something extra at work when scanning loyalty cards, especially when clerks say they never saw it work before, and when the cards get recognized so quickly before the phone is aligned with the scanner. I could very well be mistaken that it's superior in recognition of loyalty cards, but that's my experience, which I thought I'd share for anyone who already has an S6 or higher.