Some months back, it was easier for most people to pay for something at once and move on with their lives. But with prices rising everywhere and every day, even simple survival purchases have become a luxury. Samsung Wallet is about to introduce two new features in the United States to make spending and splitting costs a little more manageable.
Installment Payments, or Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), will let you divide your purchases into weekly payments, while Send Money will allow instant peer-to-peer transfers using Near-Field Communication (NFC) taps or direct online transfers. Both features are being tested internally and are expected to roll out soon.
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Paying later and sending money is now easier
In the new version of the Samsung Wallet app, the Installment payments and Send money features are clearly listed as individual options on the main dashboard. Installment payments appear with a money bag icon and the description “Pay in installments, available anywhere you make a purchase.” When you tap on them, you’re taken to a setup page where you can choose a payment plan that works for you.
It clearly states there is no credit check required, and it’s available for all Visa and Mastercard credit card purchases. Fintech company Splitit Inc. powers the service, and you must agree to the Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Electronic Communications Disclosure before using it. Even if your credit is bad, Splitit doesn’t care about your history. They only care that your card is valid and can now authorize a transaction.
If life happens to you and you default on those payments, the responsibility falls back on your credit card company, not Splitit or Samsung. Your card issuer may start charging you late fees, apply interest, or even report your missed payments to credit bureaus if you continue to miss them.
Send money also gets its listing with a wallet transfer icon and the description “Send money online or by tapping another phone or a debit card”. You can send or receive money directly between Samsung Wallet users in two ways.
The first method involves simply tapping the back of your phone against another Samsung Wallet user’s phone or a debit card linked to their Wallet. Alternatively, you can send money remotely through the Wallet app without physical contact.
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Wallet upgrades are one step closer to your Galaxy phone
Both new features on the Samsung Wallet app are placed prominently alongside existing services, including Samsung Money by SoFi, Cash Back Awards, and the Gift Card Store. They will feel like core parts of the Wallet experience instead of add-ons, and help you pay less upfront. You still need to pay the full price eventually. But instead of dropping a $400 bill all at once, you might only need to pay $100 today and another $100 each week until you finish.
Peer-to-peer payment systems aren’t exactly new. Peer-to-peer payment systems have existed for years, and even Apple recently introduced a similar feature called Tap to Cash. In fact, Samsung’s tap transfer works pretty much the same way, only that Samsung reportedly plans to make it compatible with third-party digital wallets and not limited to its app.
At the same time, the Installment payments option mirrors popular services already found on Apple Pay and Klarna. There’s no confirmed public release date yet. But since they’ve already appeared in beta versions of the app, a wider rollout is not so far away now—at least for users in the United States.
