Samsung Pay goes head-to-head with Apple Pay this September

Samsung Pay is finally on the way. Photo: Samsung

Samsung Pay is finally on the way. Photo: Samsung

Samsung’s new phablets aren’t the only thing we got out of its Unpacked event in New York City today; the South Korean company also announced a launch date for its new mobile payments service. Samsung Pay will be coming to take on Apple Pay in the U.S. on September 28.

Samsung Pay is a lot like Apple Pay, and Google’s upcoming Android Pay service, but it has one big advantage: Unlike the others, which can only be used with NFC terminals, Samsung Pay can also be used over traditional Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST).

That’s the same technology that’s used when you get your credit card swiped, which means Samsung Pay can be used in any location that accepts credit card payments. It will also be supported by most credit card merchants, including American Express, MasterCard, and Visa.

You will need a compatible Samsung device, however; those currently include the new Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+, as well as the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge.