Samsung has announced that its mobile payment platform has reached 2 million transactions in South Africa.

The service reached 1 million transactions in August 2019 and has continued to grow quickly into 2020.

Samsung has partnered with a number of major banking institutions to add support for Samsung Pay, including Absa, Standard Bank, FNB, RMB Private Bank, Discovery Bank, Investec, and Nedbank.

“Samsung Pay has redefined what consumers can expect from a digital wallet,” said Samsung South Africa integrated mobility director Justin Hume.

“It has paved the path to mobile payments in the country by providing our customers with a safe and secure service they can use almost anywhere they shop.”

“The impressive growth locally shows that South Africans are joining the other 26 launched countries in proving the value of this intelligent payment solution,” he said.

Use your phone as a card

The Samsung Pay mobile app lets owners of selected Galaxy smartphones use their devices for payments.

Users can link their bank card to their phone and use the device to pay at paypoint terminals. The system employs both NFC and MST technologies for secure payment.

Your card information is encrypted in a separate and secure data vault at all times. Every transaction uses an encrypted digital token for added security, so your actual card number is never used during a transaction.

The app was originally launched in South Africa in August 2018, after a short early access period.