Google Pay vs Samsung Pay: Which contactless payment app is right for you?

Many of us were spurred into updating the way we do things in the past couple of years, with social distancing being one of the big drivers. This led many to move from using actual credit cards to other contactless forms of payment, like a tap of the phone that Samsung Pay and Google Pay allow. 

Both Google Pay and Samsung Pay are contactless payment options that enable users to have their payment card or bank information available with just a tap of their phone or smartwatch on a payment terminal using NFC technology. 

Basically, you set it up in your phone, add a payment option like a debit or credit card, PayPal, or your bank information, and you’re able to check out at a retailer by tapping your phone on the card reader, instead of inserting a credit card. 

This means you can make your purchases without even having your wallet on you, as long as the merchant’s payment terminal is compatible with contactless payment options like Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and Apple Pay.

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Google Pay is an app, available to download on both the Google Play Store and the App Store from Apple. It requires a valid Gmail account, and allows users to pay in stores, online from many retailers, and send and request money to other Google Pay users.

Unlike Google Pay, Samsung Pay is only available on its own devices. It’s also enables in-store payments, online payments at Samsung’s app store and other retailers, and sending and requesting money from others.

Both platforms are easy to navigate and also allow users to store their loyalty, membership, rewards, and gift cards all in one place for retailers, hotels, or travel programs. Even your AAA or library card can be on your phone.

Paying in-store

Google Pay and Samsung Pay both use NFC technology, which means you can pay in store by tapping your phone on the card reader, as long as the terminal is compatible. Since iPhones use Apple Pay, contactless in-person payments aren’t available for Google Pay iPhone users. 

NFC-compatible payment terminals are becoming more common in the checkout area, but not all merchants have upgraded their systems yet, so Google Pay isn’t always an option. 

However, Samsung Pay features magnetic secure transmission, which lets users pay with their phones in those older terminals that don’t support NFC. When a user holds their phone up to the terminal, the device emits a signal that reads like a card swipe. I’ve found this feature isn’t as reliable as NFC, because the terminal can fail to read it sometimes, but it does work the vast majority of tries and is a great option that puts Samsung Pay over Google Pay in versatility, in my opinion. 

Paying online

Many online retailers now accept payment gateways like Google Pay, making it visible with a Google Pay option to select at checkout. Google pay is growing to become available at many stores online, with more options seemingly appearing every week. 

Samsung Pay is much more restricted in online transactions, being limited to only those merchants that will accept Samsung Pay, which are far fewer than those that will accept Google Pay. It is available for app purchases at the Galaxy Store and to buy from Samsung’s store.

Sending and requesting money

Both options allow sending and requesting money to others, but Google Pay makes it easier for users to send and receive money on their app than Samsung Pay. There is no fee to send money to someone. Just select the recipient, the amount, and the payment method to be used. If they don’t accept the money, it’ll be returned to your account in 14 days. There’s also the option of creating a group with several contacts to send money, which is a good option for splitting a restaurant bill, for example. 

Sending and requesting money on Samsung Pay is only available if the recipient also has a Samsung Phone, Samsung Pay activated on their device, and Samsung Pay Cash set up. 

Data security

Overall, contactless payments are more secure than using a plastic card because retailers never get your actual card number, as the information is encrypted and a different code is generated in each transaction. Samsung Pay might be the winner in data security out of these two options. Both use data encryption and built-in authentication when processing payments, but Samsung pay is secured by Knox, a security platform from Samsung that protects your device and financial information from threats through hefty data encryption. Google does promise to protect every transaction from fraud and other threats, won’t share your transaction history or personal information with third parties, and identifies fraud alerts when sending and receiving money.

Rewards

Samsung Pay and Google Pay offer multiple rewards for using their services. The former offers cash back on some purchases, which you can find within the app and later redeem to use anywhere Samsung Pay is accepted. Google Pay has some more diverse offers, they have rewards and cash back from different merchants, as well as different coupons you can activate and use in-store or online.

Google Pay also lets users to stay on top of their banking transactions on their app. When a bank account is linked, the available balance is visible on the Google Pay app, and you can track your spending for the last month or last three months.

Bottom line 

Winner: Google Pay beats Samsung Pay in my book for several reasons.

• It’s available on Android devices and not limited to just Samsung phones
• It offers a useful snapshot into your recent transactions, even pointing out trends in spending habits
• It is widely available for online shopping

Which is better for you depends on your individual circumstances. Personally, I go with Google Pay because it’s much easier to use for online transactions, it’s more widely available, and it has more variety and amount of rewards and offers available on the app. But we can’t forget Samsung Pay’s ability to work with older terminals that don’t have NFC yet. The fact that Samsung Pay is limited to Samsung phones is a drawback for me.

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