There are many ways to pay someone using your smartphone, but tap-to-pay solutions remain unmatched. Samsung has taken a unique jab at the usual tap-to-pay implementation, and I can’t believe other phones don’t have it yet.

Samsung’s Unique Tap to Transfer Feature

Samsung is adding a new “Tap to Transfer” feature in Samsung Wallet that lets you send money to your friends through your mobile wallet without any accounts. This means you can use your debit card to send money to friends or family without needing to download an additional app. Samsung has partnered with Visa and Mastercard to bring about this functionality.

The feature uses NFC (near-field communication) to connect with the debit card in the recipient’s wallet app. Since it’s connecting directly to the debit card, it works with any digital wallet app beyond Samsung Wallet. It can also transfer funds directly to a physical debit card, as long as the card has tap-to-pay capabilities.

So it doesn’t matter if your friends are using Venmo, Cash App, or Google Pay. As long as they’ve got their debit card registered in their wallet app, funds can be transferred by tapping your phones together.

In cases where physical proximity isn’t possible, regular peer-to-peer payments will also be available in Samsung’s wallet app. This lets you send money using just a phone number, but it only works with other Samsung Wallet users.

The feature saves the hassle of being on the same wallet app as everyone else while also removing the need to make traditional bank transfers, which are often cumbersome and slow. Since the feature works using NFC, you save time on setting up new recipients as well.

Hold On to Your Wallet App a Little Longer

This is one of the best tap-to-pay implementations I’ve seen over the years, especially considering how easy it is to set up and use Samsung Wallet. However, I won’t recommend getting rid of your wallet app just yet.

In theory, the feature should work with any contactless Visa or Mastercard debit card when it launches later in May 2025. However, a footnote in Samsung’s announcement explains that it requires “a contactless and payments transaction-enabled Visa or Mastercard debit card from a participating U.S. bank.”

There’s no word on what banks are participating, so you might not be able to use the feature when it first rolls out, despite having a tap-to-pay-enabled card and a Samsung phone.

There are also several security issues I can see with the feature. Digital wallets are safe to use, but they aren’t airtight, especially when using contactless or NFC payment methods. Some of the security issues that plagued contactless payment systems almost a decade ago, like eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks, still apply. I’m sure Samsung has done its homework in this context, but only time will tell how well it holds up.