Forget Venmo, Samsung Wallet will let you transfer money by tapping your phones together

Samsung tap to transfer feature for Google Wallet
(Image credit: Samsung)

There are more options than ever for transferring money to friends and family, but it can still be a major hassle. Whether it's having the right app, or making sure you're sending it to the right person. But Samsung thinks it's found a better way with a new feature called "Tap to Transfer".

The name is rather literal, and means you can transfer money from your debit card to another person by tapping your phones together. The NFC chips in two of the best Samsung phones will register, and you'll send the money over instantly.

Alternatively, if there are people without Samsung phones they can tap their debit card against the phone — which can be useful for getting money from someone not in your contacts list.

The feature has been done in partnership with Visa and Mastercard, and my guess is Tap to Transfer will be exclusive to those card companies for the time being. It's also a debit card transaction, so no trying to transfer money from your credit card by mistake.

Paying your debts made easy

The only real downside here is that Tap to Transfer is exclusive to Samsung Wallet.

Still the idea behind this is pretty interesting. Rather than having to Venmo someone your share of the dinner bill, or the cab ride you used to get home, you can simply tap their phone just as you would with a normal credit card machine.

Samsung also confirmed that location won't always matter. It will still be possible to send money to people you know through Samsung Wallet, all by searching for their Samsung account.

The only real downside here is that Tap to Transfer is exclusive to Samsung Wallet. So if you're an iPhone user, or have an Android phone not made by Samsung, you're going to miss out. You're going to be stuck transferring money the old fashioned way unless someone in your friend group has a Samsung Galaxy — and is willing to pick up the bill.

Tap to Transfer will hit Samsung Wallet at some point later this month.

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Tom Pritchard
UK Phones Editor

Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.

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