Samsung Pay partners with Citibank debit cards
Citibank credit cardholders have had access to Samsung Pay since last June.
Citibank has made Samsung’s digital wallet, Samsung Pay, available to its Australian debit card holders.
Samsung Pay has been around for almost a year now, launching in Australia in June 2016, initially partnering with Citibank and American Express.
In April Westpac became the next provider to join Samsung Pay, the first of the Big Four banks.
Samsung Pay enables customers to make tap and go payments with their smartphone rather than a physical card and is available anywhere contactless payments are already accepted.
It is available on compatible Samsung devices including Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+, Note 5, Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, plus the Galaxy S8 and S8 and the Gear S2 and S3 smartwatches.
Unlike rival Apple Pay, which is now offered in Australia by almost 50 banks and credit unions, Samsung Pay remains quite exclusive, with only three banks locking in deals with the tech giant to date.
It does, however, support many Citibank and American Express cards.
Westpac’s deal with Samsung last month was particularly noteworthy, as it came only weeks after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) denied an application by NAB, CBA and Westpac to collectively negotiate with Apple over access to Apple Pay and the NFC payments features.
Interestingly, CBA and NAB are yet to strike deals with Apple or Samsung. However, we can assume it’s more likely these providers will announce partnerships with Samsung sooner than they will Apple.
