If you are in the United Kingdom, are a fan of Samsung, and want an all-digital card option from the company, the wait is over.
Unlike Apple, which partnered with a major banking organization in Goldman Sachs for the Apple Card, Samsung is partnering with fintech company Curve to issue a dedicated Mastercard for the new service, which is called Samsung Pay Card. However, it’s worth noting right here and now that current Curve customers aren’t allowed to apply for a Samsung Pay Card at this time. So even if you would be interested in this new card option, if you’re already a Curve customer you’re ineligible at the time of publication.
Now, more than ever, people need a secure payment solution they can rely on. We’re excited to be able to put the control back into our customers’ hands, by launching Samsung Pay Card,” said Conor Pierce, Corporate Vice-President of Samsung UK & Ireland.
“At Samsung we believe in the power of innovation and, through our partnership with Curve, the Samsung Pay Card brings a series of pioneering features that will change the way that our customers manage their spending, with their Samsung smartphone and smartwatch at the heart of it. This is the future of banking and we look forward to continuing this journey with our customers.
Curve is a unique service in its own right. The fintech company offers quite a few perks to customers, including the ability to link several different cards at the same time and then choose which cards should be used for a specific purchase. It’s designed to work as a digital wallet of sorts, allowing you to pick and choose which cards you want to use and when.
Here’s how Samsung describes Samsung Pay Card, at least in part:
Samsung Pay Card is here to simplify your spending. Pay across all your accounts with one digital card, keep tabs on all your money and every single transaction via the Samsung Pay app and even if you’ve paid with the wrong account, you can swap it to the right one after you’ve spent.
As part of Samsung’s announcement today, it offers a few bullet points as to what Samsung Pay Card customers can expect. That includes a Curve-exclusive feature called “Go Back in Time” feature. With this, customers can actually change the card they used to buy something. So, within 90 days, if you decide you used the wrong card to make a big purchase, you can actually change the card used for the transaction with no penalty or extra costs.
Samsung is also offering cash back deals with the Samsung Pay Card, but it works a bit different than the Apple Card. Customers will need to actually choose which brands they want to get up to 1% cash back from with each purchase. And Samsung is offering up to 5% cash back for using the Samsung Pay Card to buy products directly from Samsung.
Here are the bullet points from the announcement:
- ONE digital-first card: Samsung Pay Card deploys Curve technology to bring together all Mastercard and Visa banking cards in one place, modernising the banking experience without the fuss of changing banks.
- It’s not too late: With the unique ‘Go Back in Time’ functionality, customers can move transactions from one card to another after they’ve been made, giving customers more flexibility and control of their spending.
- Get paid to spend and experience exclusive rewards: Customers can claim instant 1% cashback on top of their existing rewards from a choice of a wide range of brands. As an added bonus, and exclusive to the Samsung Pay Card, customers can also earn 5% on all purchases at Samsung.com.
- Save on fees when spending abroad: Samsung Pay Card allows all customers access to the mid-market rate throughout the week, cheaper than the currency conversion fees offered by many high street banks.
- Vault-like security: Samsung Knox enables customers to enjoy their mobile experience with confidence. With proactive, always-on protection straight out of the box, Samsung’s multi-layered defence-grade security offers protection to customers’ finances. In the event of a smartphone loss, access to Samsung Pay Card can be instantly locked remotely using another device from the Samsung ecosystem, without having to contact banks directly – and ‘Find My Mobile’ helps you find it.
- See the full picture: For a crystal-clear understanding of payments, customers can see transactions across different cards via the Timeline View in the Curve app, or recent transactions in Samsung Pay, with real-time notifications.
- Samsung Pay, refreshed: Utilising Curve’s unique platform, the Samsung Pay Card covers all major credit and debit cards from Mastercard and Visa in the UK, meaning almost everyone can now use Samsung Pay. Combined with the usage of AMEX and loyalty cards already available via Samsung Pay, this gives customers the ultimate one-stop-shop (or app), meaning they don’t have to compromise on any of their loyalty, reward or banking needs.
Here’s a promotional video for the Apple Card alternative:
One of the other primary differences between the new Samsung Pay Card and the Apple Card is that this is not a service that will get you a physical card. Apple’s credit card is a titanium option, but Samsung has opted to keep this a digital-only service that relies on NFC and contactless payments (something that shouldn’t really be an issue in the UK).
Plus, Apple Card isn’t available in the United Kingdom (or anywhere outside the United States for that matter), so Samsung has a bit of a head start in this regard.