Samsung Pay Protects South Africans from Card Skimmers

With a new wave of card-skimming hotspots, more people are going cardless

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – 04 October 2019 – Samsung Pay, the popular mobile tap-and-pay solution, is proving its worth once again in a big way. A recent article on Mybroadband.co.za has highlighted the seriousness of card skimming, which has risen sharply in South Africa. Conversely, Samsung Pay has seen a dramatic uptake in the past year, having already hit over one million transactions. Innovative services like Samsung Pay prevents criminals from cloning card details and recording consumer’s PINs through concealed hardware on point-of-sale machines.

Samsung Pay negates the need to use a physical card and be susceptible to skimmers. It uses tokenisation from Visa and MasterCard to protect your physical card information, so every time you make a payment your physical card information is never used during the payment process but instead a unique cryptographic sequence is used for the transaction, which changes with every transaction made. Additional protection is provided through Samsung’s government-grade Knox security, already built-in to Samsung smartphones and watches.

Card skimming is expected to increase into the upcoming festive season. It could happen anywhere when using a point-of-sale machine. This means points-of-sale devices, at restaurants or grocery stores, may not be safe. The fact is, it is difficult for consumers to remember to inspect point-of-sale machines for any irregularities every time they pay using their card. This is why South Africans are turning to the security and simplicity of Samsung Pay. It provides the functionality of a bank and loyalty card, which can be used almost anywhere* you can swipe, insert or tap a card.

“Samsung Pay provides peace of mind on an unprecedented level. Additionally, our customers have wholeheartedly embraced the convenience of paying using their ever-present smartphone seamlessly and effortlessly” says Justin Hume, Director: Integrated Mobility at Samsung South Africa.

Samsung Pay supports South Africa’s major banking institutions including Absa, Standard Bank, FNB, RMB, Discovery and Investec and has already hit over one million transactions. Samsung Pay can be downloaded, for free, from the Google Play Store or Galaxy Store depending on your Galaxy device. Once you load your bank cards, paying is always just a quick tap away. It’s convenience on the go. Samsung Pay can be used on the following devices: Galaxy Note 10+, Note 10, Note 9, Note 8, Galaxy S10+, S10, S10e, S9/S9+, S8/S8+, S7/S7 edge, A9, A80, A8, A70, A7 (2017), A5 (2017), A30s, Galaxy Watch, Galaxy Watch Active, Gear S3 and Gear Sport Watch.

* 97% acceptance rate based on local trials for compatible smartphones (NFC and MST). Compatible wearables and smartphones (NFC only) will have a lower acceptance rate.

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