Alfa-Bank launched Samsung PAY service

Reviews about the Samsung Pay service

The Service is an electronic payment made through the company’s mobile devices. Most smartphones and tablets support this option.

The service appeared in August 2015, after a Korean manufacturer bought a small company LoopPay in February.

She developed and implemented a new opportunity for the banking industry. The novelty is as follows.

The program creates a virtual magnetic strip, which is used on electronic means of payment when paying by terminal.

The technology is called Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST). It creates an emulation of a magnetic field, as a result of which the terminal takes this virtual field for a magnetic strip and performs a reading operation.

MST is completely related to another NFC technology. Translated from English means “near field communication” (Near field communication). It appeared in 2004, but has not yet received proper distribution.

Thanks to the Samsung Pay service, NFC has become more popular, since contactless payment only works when NFC is enabled. The range is no more than 8 centimeters, which is the optimal value for paying by phone.

After the option began to be actively used in the Russian Federation, the vendor organized an advertising campaign in support of its new technology.

Many services and goods were much cheaper when paying through Samsung Pay.

For example, a ride on the Moscow metro was half the price if the client paid using contactless payment technology.

Here is a short instruction on how to pay using the contactless payment system.

1. The customer goes to the store’s checkout and waits for the employee to enter payment data into the terminal;
2. After the cashier announces the final amount of the purchase, the owner of the smartphone swipes his index finger across the screen from the bottom up to activate the Samsung pay application;
3. In the next step, the user brings the mobile device to the payment terminal, and waits until the inscription confirming the payment operation appears on the screen;
4. The client puts the communicator in his pocket and takes the purchase.

Information about service centers can be obtained on the official website of the company.

By going to the site, the visitor indicates his device with which he had a problem.

Then he chooses the option he needs and clicks on it with the left mouse button. A list of mobile devices will be displayed on the screen.

Search uses special filters. The visitor can choose which SCs he is interested in: direct from Samsung, partner authorized centers, or both.

Detailed information is provided for each company. Worth a five-star rating. The more stars, the more customers liked the SC.

Below is the official portal address and contact phone numbers for more information. Some service centers have recommended visiting hours.

There are two links at the very end of the line. By clicking on the first one, the client will be shown the location of the service center on a schematic map, and the second one will help to get directions using the Yandex. Cards”.

Take the opinions of mobile device owners about the contactless payment service from the Otzovik website.

Why is Samsung Pay useful?

The service is convenient because you can pay by bank transfer using only your smartphone.

Phone owners no longer have to look for a bank card to pay through the terminal. You just need to activate the application and make a payment. The action will take no more than one minute.

Such a service will save time on shopping, you will no longer have to stand in lines waiting for the sellers to find change for the buyer. Payment is instant.

There is a function to save payments. All financial transactions that are made using Samsung Pay are stored in the application.

At any time, the owner of the communicator can open the history, and track the history of purchases.

The application can store an unlimited number of payment cards. Thus, the client can load all his cards into the program and no longer carry them with him.

Which banks support Samsung Pay?

Most financial structures are ready to work with Samsung pay technology. From their point of view, this is a new technology that will completely replace the standard payment method in the near future.

List of famous banks:

• Sberbank;
• Alfa Bank;
• Gazprombank;
• Tinkoff;
• VTB24;
• Rocketbank;
• Russian standard.

Separately, I would like to mention the payment card of Sberbank – MIR. This is a new system that was developed in Russia. Mostly used by government agencies.

In 2017, a decision was made to launch a pilot project involving several banks from the list above. They introduced the possibility of using the MIR payment system for contactless payment via Samsung Pay.

After successful testing, the project was approved, and in 2018 the service became widespread. Today, most banks work with the MIR payment system as well as with others. Bank card holders can easily pay for purchases.

Before using the application, you need to figure out what types of “plastic” the payment system works with. You can add to the software:

• “Mastercard”;
• “Visa”;
• “MIR”.

The service operates with Visa and Mastercard credit cards of the following companies:

• Yandex;
• Russian standard;
• MTS;
• VTB 24;
• Alfa-bank;
• Sberbank.

At the moment, the list of banks is not large, but it is gradually replenished.

As for the MIR credit card, it is in test mode. “Plastic” must belong to a credit institution:

• “Opening”;
• Rosselkhozbank.

Other banks issuing the MIR card will appear in the software not earlier than mid-2019.

Samsung Pay is a comfortable, reliable and secure service, it is a contactless payment via a mobile phone. Thanks to this payment system, you can make purchases wherever there is a terminal for paying with bank cards. To complete the payment, the user needs to touch the screen of the Samsung Galaxy mobile phone to select the card and pass the fingerprint authorization.

There are also three security levels in the service:

1. Fingerprint for authorization.
2. System Token. At the moment when the purchase is made, instead of the card number, a random digital value is applied, which is a special digital code.
3. Samsung KNOX security system. Protects the user’s smartphone from malicious attacks. And separately from the OS, in a closed container inside Samsung KNOX, it provides secure storage of bank card data in encrypted form. Each time, before registering a new card, Samsung KNOX checks the device and its firmware for viruses or unauthorized changes to the smartphone’s firmware. In case smartphone security threats are detected. The Samsung Pay system on this device is instantly blocked, and the smartphone cannot be used as a payment device.

Alfa-Bank, MTS Bank, Russian Standard, Bank St. Petersburg, Otkritie, Sberbank, Bin-Bank, Raiffeisen Bank, Tinkoff, VTB 24, Rocket Bank and Tochka, Yandex Money.

Alfa-Bank is no exception in partnership with the Samsung Pay service. The service was launched in the bank on September 29, 2016. This innovative service has also become available to the bank’s customers – holders of Mastercard and Visa cards and owners of a Samsung smartphone, in models that support Samsung Pay.

Technology safety

When using Samsung Pay technology, many smartphone owners have a question – “How safe is it to use such a function?”.

The Korean vendor has set the following three rules to help protect data during payment and prevent hackers from gaining access:

• Tokenization. During the payment operation, a one-time security token is received from the mobile device, which can only be accepted by one terminal. It is generated randomly. Its main purpose is to hide the bank card code, all data inside it is encrypted. Thus, the transfer of payment details to the terminal is fully encrypted, and excludes the possibility of hacking;
• KNOX. A special technology that was developed by Samsung to protect their data. The technology is a “sandbox”, that is, it is an isolated virtual space in which all financial transactions or any other user actions take place. Using KNOX allows you to reliably protect the data of smartphone owners from intruders;
• Confirmation of debiting funds from a means of payment passes either by a fingerprint or through a PIN code. The restriction only works when paying more than 1000 rubles. Accordingly, the withdrawal of funds will not occur without the permission of the user.

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Supported by many banks, Samsung Pay allows you to make instant payments with a high level of security and privacy.

To make a contactless payment from a smartphone, you need:

• unlock the device;
• select the desired card option from the list;
• log in with your fingerprint or PIN code;
• bring the smartphone with the screen to the terminal;
• depending on the request of the cashier to confirm the payment – sign or enter a PIN code;
• receive a paycheck;
• after the completion of the payment, a notification will be sent to the mobile device about the transaction.

A high level of security is guaranteed by three factors:

• use of a special token instead of real payment card data;
• fingerprint authorization, which is unique;
• encryption of card data in Samsung Knox in case of phone loss.

How to register in the application?

After the application has been installed on a mobile device, launch it and go through registration. Two options are possible. The first case is when the client already has an account on the Samsung domain, and the second is when the user purchased a mobile device from a Korean company for the first time.

Let’s first consider how to create an account name on the Samsung portal. If the owner of the smartphone already has it, go to the next step.

1. On the mobile device, open the “Settings” menu, go to the “Accounts” section. Next, click “Add an account”;

1. In the window that opens, select the line, as shown in the screenshot below;

1. In the window that opens, select the item “Create an account”;

1. The main window with registration information will be displayed on the communicator screen. We begin to fill in the following.

First, the client comes up with an account name. It can be arbitrary, as long as it is easy to remember and unique.

In the next two lines, enter the password and its confirmation. It should be designed according to the recommendations below.

To check the entered data, the user can activate the “Show password” option. The screen will display the data specified in the corresponding fields.

Next, fill in the information about the year of birth, indicate the full name of the owner of the phone. This information is necessary so that if the mobile device is lost, the owner can get it back.

Adding a card to a smart device

In order for this service to work on a smart device, you need to add a card to the application:

1. Open Samsung Pay on your smartphone and press the start button.
2. Select and set the desired method for unlocking the screen and confirming purchases – this can be a fingerprint or a PIN code.
3. When adding a card for the first time, click on the icon with its image. And for subsequent cards – on the button with the inscription “Add”.
4. Enter the data manually or take a picture from the card and move on.
5. Accept the agreement between Samsung Pay and Alfa-Bank.
6. In order to confirm the registration, click on the “SMS” button.
7. In a special window, enter the secret code received in an SMS message.
8. Draw your signature with your finger or with a stylus and click on the “Save” button.

1. There is a Samsung Pay icon on the phone screen, if it is not there, it means that you need to update the software.
2. Click on the icon to accept the terms and activate the service launch.
3. Next, you need to configure the application by choosing the most convenient authorization method for you:

• Fingerprint.
• Pin code.

4. Upload cards that the client plans to use from this device: VISA or Mastercard Alfa Bank, also plastic cards can be photographed and they will be automatically loaded into the application.

5. After we put the “checkmarks” on the acceptance of the terms and conditions and user agreement.

6. Subsequently, you will receive an SMS with a code from the bank that issued the card.

How Samsung Pay VISA card Alfa-Bank works.

1. On the smartphone screen, swipe up and down to open all the cards.
2. Next, you need to select the card with which the purchase will be paid.
3. Then enter a pin code or fingerprint authorization.
4. Next, you need to bring the smartphone to the payment terminal.
5. If the cashier asks you to enter a pin code or sign, then the client must enter the code and sign as on the screen.
6. Receive a check and payment notice.

7. Next, a window will open where the user must enter his personal signature with a finger or snilos.

For each new purchase made, the Token system is applied, data and card number are encrypted. And in case the phone is lost, the card information is encoded in a secure Samsung Knox container.

You can also register a virtual card in the Samsung Pay software. The principle of registration is similar to the process for standard bank cards, but there are some differences.

First, the details of the payment instrument are generated by the vendor, without the participation of the user. This guarantees a high level of reliability of the generated data.

Secondly, the service of such a card is completely transferred to the side of Samsung. That is, the user no longer needs to change it, contact the representatives of the financial institution in case of any problems.

Thirdly, the virtual payment instrument will allow the client to secure their payments in the global network. If he suspects that he has been hacked, just go to the Samsung Pay program and block the current virtual card.

System Capabilities

Alfa-Bank announced the statistics of the Samsung Pay service in Russia, the very first release after Korea. According to the bank’s data, most transactions were in Moscow – 34.9% and in St. Petersburg – 8.93%. The following cities were included in terms of the number of payments: Kazan, Ufa, Nizhny Novgorod, Vladivostok, Tyumen, Yekaterinburg, Krasnodar and Novosibirsk.

The most significant transactions through Samsung Pay were supermarkets (30.78%), followed by restaurants (18.68%) and clothing stores (12.06) of purchases among users.

Demographics of Samsung Pay users: men (92%) and women (8%).

Alfa-Bank’s average age is 32.5 years.

Samsung Pay is a highly demanded service among Alfa-Bank customers, which opens up the possibility for them to make absolutely secure contactless payments. As a payment instrument, not the bank card itself is used, but a smartphone or smart watch from Samsung. Today, Samsung Pay technology also has other partner banks – in particular, Sberbank, VTB, Tinkoff, Gazprombank, Raiffeisen and some others.

The main features of the service are:

• support for any plastic cards of MasterCard and Visa payment systems;
• compatible with any smartphones and Gear S3 smart watches developed by Samsung;
• the ability to use for making payments in terminals of any type – both those supporting modern NFC contactless technology, and designed for cards with a magnetic stripe or a chip;
• using the owner’s fingerprint as a guarantee of security.

Samsung support

If a user has problems with a mobile device or Samsung Pay technology, he can contact the vendor’s contact center.

The subscriber dials the number and talks about his problem. If a contact center employee can solve his problem, he tries to help the client. For example, to advise how points are awarded for the Gold status when buying through Samsung pay.

If the issue cannot be resolved immediately, then the subscriber is addressed to the next support line. The company’s employees are highly qualified specialists, and always try to help users solve the current problem.

You can also contact the contact center in other ways. Let’s talk about each in more detail. There is a link to the chat on the official website of the vendor.

User clicks “Start Chat”. A new workspace will open in which you need to fill in the following lines

The client enters in the “Nickname” field the name that will be displayed in the chat. The following two fields to fill out are optional, but they can speed up the response in case of a problem with a technical device. It is recommended to specify parameters.

After that, the user accepts the agreement, and clicks “Start”. He will have access to an online dialogue with a support staff member.

The second way to contact the call center is by e-mail.

By clicking on “Write a letter”, the visitor is sent to the site with a choice of one of two categories: general or technical. After activating one of the options, the user gets access to the form for sending a letter through the vendor’s website.

The client specifies the type of request, and then enters his name. As means of feedback, you must specify an e-mail and a contact phone number.

The second part assumes that the client provides detailed information about the problem that has occurred.

The top field serves as the title of the letter, and in the message the user talks about the problem that has occurred. If the client needs to upload screenshots, then you should use the appropriate field below.

After that, the user optionally confirms his consent in the fields below, and clicks “Submit”.

The answer will come within a few days. If necessary, the client will be contacted at the specified phone number.

Samsung also has social media accounts.

The user follows the link and asks his question in private messages. Operators are almost constantly online and are ready to provide a detailed answer to the question asked.

Benefits

Here are the positive aspects of using Samsung Pay compared to other similar services:

1. Samsung developed this technology to support not only bank cards with a chip, but also old-generation magnetic stripe payment instruments. MSD technology generates a virtual field identical to the magnetic one, as a result of which the terminal accepts it;
2. Samsung’s unique development called KNOX is a virtual isolated space that can protect the user when using Samsung Pay. This technology conducts all financial transactions in its environment, and, in case of suspicion of hacking by an attacker, simply blocks access to other smartphone functions;
3. When using contactless payment technology, smartphone owners receive bonus points in partner stores or from participants in promotional programs. Accumulated bonuses can be spent in the official Samsung store;