The arrival of Samsung Pay gives Absa customers even more choice on how they can make payments. “We have partnered with Samsung to offer our customers this highly innovative payment option. It will allow them to make simple, quick and highly secure payments with their Samsung Phone when purchasing goods at most retailers on both contactless and non-contactless terminals where they currently use their Absa cards - without ever having to get their card from their wallet,” says Arrie Rautenbach, CE of Absa Retail and Business Banking.

The way consumers make payments is changing faster than any area of financial services, impacted by rapid changes in digital technology, competitive forces and consumer demands. “Making a payment has become so much more than just transacting and is now also about the experience. Many of the developments in financial technology over the past few years have thus been about making the buying process quicker and more convenient and while cash might not be dead and cards still dominate the payments landscape, the world of contactless payments is evolving faster than ever before,” says Rautenbach.

“Once you’ve used Samsung Pay, you’ll wonder how you lived without it. It is convenient, so easy to use and incredibly secure, “says Craige Fleischer, Vice President of Integrated Mobility for Samsung South Africa. Samsung smartphones that work with Samsung Pay feature the latest cutting-edge technology in terms of security “Samsung Pay doesn’t store or share payment or card information, making it safe to use. Of course, all Samsung devices have the indomitable Samsung Knox to ensure everything is extra secure, ensuring multiple layers of security are in place to keep it safe from hackers trying to steal your personal information,” adds Fleischer.

The announcement of the Samsung partnership follows the recent launch of Absa’s new visual identity as the group separated from Barclays PLC to form a standalone African bank with global scalability. “Our aspiration is to be an entrepreneurial, digitally-led African banking group that makes a real and lasting contribution to the financial wellbeing of our customers and the societies where we operate. We are passionate about innovation, and we are immensely proud to be one of the first African banks to offer this innovative payment solution that will forever change the way our customers make in-store purchases. That’s what we call Africanacity,” says Rautenbach.

Samsung Pay will be supported on both Absa Debit and Credit cards and the following Samsung Galaxy devices: Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+, Note 8, S8, S8+, S7, S7 Edge, A8 and coming soon on the A5/A7 (2017 Edition).

Selected customers will be invited to join the early access program over the coming days.