The Samsung Pay mobile payment platform is set to launch on September 28 in the U.S., but eager customers can try out the beta in the meantime.
The beta program for Samsung Pay is on an invite-only basis, but Samsung has started rolling out invitations so interested Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge+ or Galaxy Note 5 owners can give it a shot before the service goes live.
To test-drive the Samsung Pay platform, owners of the aforementioned Galaxy devices must have an active Samsung account and a qualifying card from Visa, MasterCard, Bank of America or U.S. Bank Visa.
Qualifying cards include Bank of America consumer credit, debit cards and small business debit cards; Merrill Lynch consumer credit cards; U.S. Trust consumer credit and debit cards; as well as U.S. Bank consumer or small business Visa credit and debit cards; Elan Financial consumer or small business Visa credit cards.
It's worth pointing out, however, that Verizon currently doesn't support Samsung Pay. AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular have all announced support for Samsung's mobile payments system, leaving Verizon as the only major carrier in the U.S. that doesn't support Samsung Pay just yet.
The Samsung Pay Beta program doesn't come with additional financial implications, meaning that interested consumers won't have to pay a fee to join the program, and they won't be compensated for participating. Customers who enroll to test-drive Samsung Pay in the U.S. are encouraged to provide their feedback during the beta program to help Samsung improve the experience.
That said, owners of Samsung's latest flagship smartphones who want to try out the mobile payments system before its official release in the U.S. can sign up for the Samsung Pay Beta program on the company's website, provided that they meet all of the requirements.
Samsung Pay will go head-to-head with Apple Pay – the mobile payments system of its arch-rival – but it remains to be seen just how well it will fare on the U.S. market. Samsung's payment service has an edge over its rival because it works with the vast majority of existing credit card payment terminals — but the fact that it only works with a few premium Galaxy devices could limit its adoption rates.
