You’ll be able to store car keys, smart locks, airline tickets, and more
At Google I/O 2022, the company announced it was replacing the legacy Google Pay app with a new service, once again called Wallet. It collects payment cards, car keys, student IDs, vaccine cards, and everything in between. It also serves as Google’s primary payments app in 42 countries, while users in the US and Singapore use both apps in conjunction. As confusing as this approach might look on paper, it’s bound to be a popular move — especially with Samsung following in its lead.
The company made a surprise announcement in South Korea (via SamMobile) that Samsung Pass is no more — in fact, it’s merging with Samsung Pay with the Pass experience integrated into the regular Pay app. This change isn’t entirely surprising, either — we previously reported that it appeared Samsung was moving in this direction, and it seems that rumor was right.
The renewed, catch-all app will not only let you access your payment methods and loyalty cards, but also your car keys, smart locks compatible with SmartThings, plane tickets from select airlines, and movie tickets from select theaters. It will also let you manage your digital assets (as in, cryptocurrencies) if you’re into that, compatible with crypto exchanges like Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit. And just like with cards, everything is secured by Samsung Knox.
Right now, the change will only go live in South Korea, Samsung’s home market, and all the compatible airlines and theaters are, unsurprisingly, South Korean. However, the change should be expanding to other markets, including the US, in the coming months. It’s a pretty similar move to the one Google did, and these kinds of apps will likely become even more valuable over time as our physical goods become digital.
