Last updated: January 15th, 2021 at 07:23 UTC+01:00

Galaxy S21 lacks an important Samsung Pay feature in the US

The Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra come with various improvements over their predecessors. However, Samsung has also removed some important features from these phones, including the microSD card slot, the bundled charger, and 45W fast charging. The new flagship phones also lack an important Samsung Pay feature that was available in the Galaxy S20 series.

Samsung has confirmed that the Galaxy S21 series lacks MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) for contactless mobile payments via Samsung Pay, at least in the US. It is still unclear if the feature has been removed in other markets as well, but there is a good chance of that happening.

Future Galaxy smartphones won’t have MST for Samsung Pay

The company has also indicated that its future smartphones won’t come with MST due to the rapid adoption of NFC-based payment devices worldwide, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. So, don’t expect the Galaxy Note 21, Galaxy Z Fold 3, Galaxy Z Flip 2, and the Galaxy S22 series to feature MST.

The MST feature emulates a credit card or debit card’s magnetic card stripe when placed next to a PoS (Point of Sale) device, making it think that a regular card has been swiped. The Galaxy S21 series will still be able to make mobile payments through Samsung Pay using NFC and QR codes. If you have a Galaxy device with MST built-in, you can continue to use it for mobile payments in the future.

People might face problems while making mobile payments with the Galaxy S21 series in developing markets like India, where NFC payments still haven’t caught up. In such markets, MST is a great feature to have. So, if you are a heavy MST user in a country where NFC payments are not common, you might want to hold on to your current Galaxy device.

Rival payment solutions like Apple Pay and Google Pay also use NFC, and with the removal of MST, the South Korean smartphone giant has one less tool in its arsenal to attract consumers. Do you think Samsung has made a mistake by removing MST from the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.