Samsung pay just doesn't work reliably. I don't care what the commercials say

[Jimmy Bernstein]

FWIW, I've had 100% success, though have only been using it since I got Note 7. Just tried it on a 1980's era reader at movie theater and no problems. Trick that checkout person told me was holding center of phone over center of reader and then may need to wait a second or two.
(Bonus pleasure is hearing jaded art-house move theater ticket-taker say "whooa--that really is cool.")

 

[naturalguy]

I've used it almost everywhere without a problem, I am on the s7 edge however

 

[doodleholic]

I used it for the first time yesterday. The first time I tried it, it failed, but it was because, even though I'd watched the videos, I wasn't certain of how to do it. The second time (same register), it worked flawlessly. For me, I think it will just take a bit of practice figuring out where to hold it over the reader and going through the prompts and such.

 

[digital0verdose]

Yeah, my success with Samsung pay has been tenuous at best. The latest example is Panera. I spent a few min yesterday morning trying to find the sweet spot on the card reader and finally gave up. I'm not impressed so far.

 

[ZOMMBIE1]

You have to just find the sweet spots on the card readers. I keep trying until it goes through. Haven't had it fail at all.

 

[TheLegoJoker]

I've had flawless performance everywhere except for the one time I've been to skyline. A coworker used it there without issue so i think me. Loving Samsung Pay.

 

[Law2138]

I'm doing some reading on mobile payment technology and how most payment systems work. I'm pretty confident that Samsung Pay works as intended from the device, however, its the card reader that may be giving others some problems.

There are a ton of different card readers and systems set up in stores to process credit and debit cards. Over the years they get updated, replaced with new units that support Magnetic Secure Transmission. I'm pretty sure it all just doesn't work out of the box, and each store needs to have it configured properly. Sometimes you'll see retailers that have tape over card insert slot or a note that says, "Chip reader not working". Its because they haven't updated yet.

Its frustrating without a doubt to try a payment, and have it not work for whatever reason. What's the point of wasting time with it if you could just pay with a card in the first place? I'm not comfortable enough to just walk into any store without my wallet and try to pay with my phone. It shouldn't be that way....but it will take some time.

 

[wookiee2cu]

I was gonna ask about the self checkout at Walmart. I haven't been able to get mine to work at self checkout. I haven't tried at a register yet, because the lines are always so long. Some people have trouble there and some don't.

I've used mine at the Walmart self checkout several times with out any issues (Seattle area). I always choose debit and enter my regular 4 digit pin, not the one shown with the card within the Samsung Pay app. May depend on the bank your debit card is with? Mine is a Bank of America Visa debit card, never had any issues except for 3 places; one of which had just gotten new terminals put in but I went back a week later and Samsung Pay worked just fine.

 

[lanenubia]

I've only had 1 issue so far. With the chip reader terminals, it is much faster to use Samsung Pay.

So Samsung Pay works at Chip terminals? I didnt know that. I was thinking it wouldnt work on chip terminals, so I never tried.

 

[alwilliam]

I am having issues using Samsung Pay with my Debit card. I only have my Debit card loaded into Samsung pay. When I go to pay if I choose Credit as the payment form it works with no issue. If I choose debit the terminal asks for my PIN number which I enter and then it declines the card saying "invalid or incorrect pin number". Am I doing something incorrect?

It's because Sam Pay is using a virtual number which is totally different from your Debit Card number called Tokenization. Of course your PIN will not work for that virtual number. This is what makes Sam Pay more secure as it protects your real card number. Each transaction got a different code.

My only worry, as I have not tried it yet, is if you need to return or ask for a refund and how are they suppose to match your real card with the receipt.

 

[Jean Sagarese]

worked for me this morning at McDonald's even though she said try again I could tell it went thru and then she handed me the receipt

 

[alwilliam]

So Samsung Pay works at Chip terminals? I didnt know that. I was thinking it wouldnt work on chip terminals, so I never tried.

Just make sure the person behind the counter have pressed the credit button/key. Most terminals will do nothing unless it is ready to receive credit payments.

 

[boufa]

So Samsung Pay works at Chip terminals? I didnt know that. I was thinking it wouldnt work on chip terminals, so I never tried.

Yes, the Samsung pay virtual card is perceived as either a non-chip card, or as an electronic card, depending on how its processed. Either way, the "chip" part becomes irrelevant. You are still protected by tokenization in a similar manner that the chip protects you.

 

[skatergirl]

Love Samsung Pay

 

[boufa]

As a follow up to my earlier post about the samsung pay not working at all, I did a full reset of the data for both the cache and the data, and reloaded my cards in, and it works great now.

2 things I learned talking to their tech support...
1) I lost my promo cards (The $20 note 7 bonus, and $5 referral bonus) but they put in a support ticket and they can re-load them back on, but it will take 2-3 days to reappear in my account.

2) When you press re-try after the payment feature times out, it actually doesn't just retry, it starts more aggressively pushing the magnetic credit card data in different tracks and different frequencies. I am told it takes more battery power, but the success rate is supposed to be significantly hihger... it was described, most likely over stated, as 80% of transaction go through on the first pass, push that up to 90+% on the second try with the more aggressive transmitting.

 

[Misterb]

Still not working reliably. I've been trying to spend that $20 Samsung money for the past day at two different vendors. One was Safeway. The other was a Harley Davidson dealership for some oil. Neither worked, and I had both cashiers select credit. Mind you, I AM able to use it here and there. You guys that keep saying with enthusiasm "I used it at Walmart and it worked!" need to understand that I could say the same thing with Walmart. Problem is, I go to lots of different stores and have tried it and the stupid thing time after time after time fails.

 

[Almeuit]

Still not working reliably. I've been trying to spend that $20 Samsung money for the past day at two different vendors. One was Safeway. The other was a Harley Davidson dealership for some oil. Neither worked, and I had both cashiers select credit. Mind you, I AM able to use it here and there. You guys that keep saying with enthusiasm "I used it at Walmart and it worked!" need to understand that I could say the same thing with Walmart. Problem is, I go to lots of different stores and have tried it and the stupid thing time after time after time fails.

And it sucks you're having troubles but others are just sharing their experiences (hence some talking about Walmart). I literally use it every single place around me that has a card reader for me to swipe on without issue. Walmart, Publix, Gas stations, etc. etc.

I am not sure where the issue is for you versus me. I walk up, do FP, it pulses, and then I keep it there till it show a checkmark on the screen or the reader itself acknowledges it.

 

[SpookDroid]

Just piling up to the 'it works fine for me' posts. If this thing allowed me to carry my driver's license in it, I'd leave my wallet at home. Costco (both debit and Visa credit, and before the switch, an Amex), Starbucks, Best Buy, restaurants, vending machines, supermarket (including Target and Walmart)... they all work fine. Sometimes the cashier has to initiate the credit transaction (they usually do that automatically when you pull out your card, but with the phone, you might have to remind them) but otherwise it's always worked fine for me.

 

[ded1945]

Most terminals will do nothing unless it is ready to receive credit payments.

If the terminal says something to the effect of "Swipe Your Card" you can then use Samsung Pay. Many stores are set up to speed up the checkout process by allowing the user to swipe their card as soon as the checking out begins.

 

[double923]

It worked great for me as well.