Samsung Pay MST (UK)

[Allworth]

Hello all,

I live in UK and bought S20+ recently. I have set up Samsung Pay and able to pay with it, however,  in card details it says 'NFC payments only'  

Q1: Is there a way to enable MST payments my bank is Nationwide if it matters? I know that nowadays most UK pay-terminals are NFC enabled, but I would like an extra peace of mind.

Q2: How do you figure out the limit for payment (if there is one) while using Samsung Pay?

Q3: Am I able to pay with Samsung Pay abroad (Europe) at the places where my card contactless payment works well?

Thanks in advance!

[TessM]

Hey @Allworth ,

hope that you are well. I will try to respond to all your questions.

A1: MST is not compatible with our phones. Can I ask why you'd like to activate this?

A2: A limit of £30 may apply, based on merchant policies.

A3: Samsung Pay works virtually anywhere you can tap your contactless card. In addition, you can also make payments in apps and on websites where you see the Samsung Pay Checkout button.

[Allworth]

Hi, thanks for quick reply.

I was thinking that some shops may not have Contactless payments, that is where MST could be handy, also I think there is no pay limit if you pay using MST.

Also wikipedia says that S20 range is compatible with MST, perhaps it depends on region?

[TessM]

You are very welcome. I would be unable to comment on this payment method limit as this will depend on the shop's discretion and or your bank. 

In relation to the MST activation, we have had a closer look at this and this is supported by the app but it's not compatible with some phones. However, as most terminals have moved away from the magstripe system I think that you won't have any problem with this. 

[Allworth]

I've done some research, it seems that S20 phone range supports MST (magnetic secure transmissions) but the problem seems to be that the VISA has blocked MST in UK.

https://eu.community.samsung.com/t5/Galaxy-Note9/Should-let-us-use-Magnetic-Secure-Transmission-in-t...

[GeorgeC]

Hi @Allworth 

I'm not sure that issuers (banks) issue cards with MST technology, as far as I know, they issue contactless cards with NFC only - incl. Nationwide (your bank).

Visa, MC and Amex are the biggest networks in UK market and they issue only NFC cards which are compatible with POS machines you find in shops, I haven't found a Point Of Sale machine that supports contactless but doesn't support NFC (only MST). 

I know for example that in US, NFC based POS penetration is very low and that's where MST is used more. In Europe NFC seems to be leading comfortably.

I believe that all devices from S6 and above support both NFC and MST (hardware speaking), but I'm not sure it would make any difference for us as consumers having both technologies enabled.

Hope this helps.

[JAMES4578]

MST will no longer be supported for contactless Payments on the S21 series in the US, though differs in various regions. Apparently uk and Netherlands  devices still have MST but France, Germany and Italy do not.    However seems much less of an issue in the UK  due to the wide adoption of NFC.   https://www.gsmarena.com/some_galaxy_s21_units_only_support_nfc_terminals_for_samsung_pay_samsung_st... 

This was brought to my attention after noticing a critical CNET video.