Galaxy S21 doesn’t support MST with Samsung Pay
- The just introduced Samsung Galaxy S21 series does not support magnetic stripe technology (MST) via the Samsung Pay app.
- Instead, Galaxy S21 owners have to rely solely on NFC payments.
- In the future, Samsung will give up MST recording. However, older phones can still use the technology.
One of the main features of Samsung Pay is the support for magnetic stripe technology, also known as MST. With MST, a user can make a contactless payment with any credit card machine – even if near field communication (NFC) is not supported. This is the biggest difference (and advantage) to using Samsung Pay over a competitor like Google Pay.
See also: Google Pay: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners
However, Samsung today confirmed that the brand new Samsung Galaxy S21 series does not support MST (via) Ron Amadeo on Twitter). This means that Galaxy S21 owners will have to rely on NFC support for every contactless payment.
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Samsung sent a statement to Amadeo which you can see below:
With the rapid adoption of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology by consumers and businesses, starting with devices launched in 2021, Samsung Pay will focus its support on NFC transactions across the Galaxy portfolio. While future devices will no longer include magnetic stripe technology (MST), customers with previous, compatible Galaxy devices will still be able to use Samsung Pay, including MST.
It seems that the explanation for this change is simply that NFC is much more common today than it was when MST first became available. Hence, it was likely a simple cost-saving measure that led Samsung to remove MST hardware from the Galaxy S21 phones.
This will undoubtedly annoy many Samsung fans. While NFC support is certainly easier to find in stores these days, it’s still not everywhere. This could force a small percentage of buyers who love this feature to avoid upgrading their phones.
