Samsung Pay announces early access programme in Hong Kong

After the rollout of Apple Pay and Android Pay, the Korean tech giant is launching Samsung Pay in the city, and supports both traditional swipes or contactless payments.Samsung Pay is expected to launch in the second quarter of 2017, with support from card issuers including American Express, Bank of China (Hong Kong), Citibank, Dah Sing Bank, DBS Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank.Starting today, American Express, Citibank, Dah Sing Bank and Standard Chartered Bank cardholders can register online to participate in the early access programme.It works with both near field communication (NFC) and Samsung's magnetic secure transmission (MST) technologies, as well as a traditional swipe as MST replicates a card swipe by wirelessly transmitting magnetic wave from a supported Samsung device to a standard card reader.To make a payment with Samsung Pay, swipe up from the home button, scan a fingerprint or iris (which can be different from the authentication registered to unlock the device), and tap the back of the phone on a POS machine.Smartphone models supported by Samsung Pay in Hong Kong include Galaxy S8+, S8, S7 edge, S7, S6 edge+ and Note5.Samsung users who have already registered successfully for the Samsung Pay early access programme can participate in promotions in the Samsung Pay App.