Samsung Wallet will let you send money to other phones and cards

Samsung is making it easier for Galaxy phone users to quickly send money to friends and family. A contactless Tap to Transfer feature will be available for Samsung Wallet users in the US “later this month” that allows users to directly pay into someone else’s bank account without using third-party services like Venmo or Cash App.

The new peer-to-peer payment feature can transfer money from Visa or Mastercard debit cards stored within Samsung Wallet, using NFC to connect with the debit card in a recipient’s wallet app. Because the feature works by connecting to the card itself, it will work with any digital wallet — not just other Samsung Wallet users. The feature can also transfer directly to a physical debit card if the recipient doesn’t have a wallet app, provided the card’s chip supports tap-to-pay.

Sending money directly to debit cards is easier than requiring everyone to have the same third-party payment apps installed on their devices, and removes the need to wait for a traditional bank transfer. Doing so contactlessly also saves time on setting up new recipients, making it less cumbersome to split bills when large groups are paying for meals or experiences.

Samsung says that users can also send money to other Samsung Wallet users who aren’t nearby by using their phone number to search for their Samsung account, allowing peer-to-peer transactions to be completed remotely if people can’t hang around while the bill is being handled.