What you need to know
- A recent email highlights the upcoming start for Samsung Wallet's "Buy now, Pay later" (BNPL) feature.
- Samsung states users can join the waitlist to prepare for its April 28 to June 6 run in the U.S.; however, the test is confined to certain cards and U.S. states.
- Samsung Wallet's recent update brought a digital key expansion to users for Polestar and Volvo models.
Samsung has started a trial run for a familiar feature in its Wallet app for users in the U.S.
An email for a new "Buy now, Pay later" (BNPL) feature in Samsung Wallet was spotted by SammyGuru. The company's email highlights the feature's upcoming rollout, thanks to its partnership with Splitit for "Installment Payments." The Early Access Program for BNPL starts on April 28 and runs until June 6 in the U.S. While the feature will leverage your Galaxy device's NFC capabilities, there are extra details Samsung is highlighting.
First, users must have attached an "eligible card" and live in an "eligible state" to participate in the trial run.
The publication dove deeper, stating BNPL only accepts Visa and Mastercard payment options. Additionally, users in Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, and Wyoming are eligible to sign up for the test.
It seems that only users in these states will notice the Early Access sign-up button in Samsung Wallet. Users interested in participating can join the waitlist in-app, which will keep them in the loop about their potential acceptance when the time comes later in April.
Refining the Wallet experience
Samsung is playing a bit of catch-up with this early access as Google Pay already rolled out a "Buy now, Pay later." In 2024, the company expanded its range, bringing its services to even more websites. Google Pay lets users select from a few third-party providers like Affirm or Zip to split their payments into a few installments for purchased items.
However, Google reiterated a warning to its users following the expansion: missing a pre-determined installment will negatively affect your credit score or lead to "collection actions." For Samsung, while its early access didn't highlight anything like this, it stated that users could join its early test with "no required credit check."
Samsung Wallet updates have been relatively quiet; however, a recent update expanded its digital key support to Polestar and Volvo. The update arrived with initial support for the Volvo EX90 and the Polestar 3, but Samsung informed users that more vehicles would arrive later on. Much of this support was for users in Europe, North America, and Spain.
Polestar and Vivo join the likes of Kia, BMW, and Genesis models and even a few Audi vehicles.
