Can You Make Payments With The Samsung Galaxy Ring?

While it’s obvious that the Galaxy Ring boasts its impressive features measuring sleep, activity, and much more. What intrigued me was the rumored ‘Tap to Pay’ feature.

But tech fans will unfortunately not be wearing their dollars on their fingers with the Galaxy Ring just yet. The Samsung Galaxy Ring does not support NFC contactless payments.

Samsung’s Vice President, Hon Pak, hinted at a possible NFC and payments feature at the Unpacked Event in Jan 2024 by saying:

“We have a whole … team that is looking at that, but I think clearly looking at multiple different use cases for the Ring beyond just health, for sure.”

The smartphones have replaced our wallets, but can a smart ring replace a smartphone? Technically, yes. Alas, this speculation did not materialize.

Why Doesn’t The Samsung Galaxy Ring Support Contactless Payments?

As in the case of the OG contactless payment ring, McLEAR, the validity of which is only 36 months, it is clear that the shelf life of smart rings that support contactless payments isn’t long enough to justify their price tags.

If Samsung, along with all its bells and whistles, were to add the NFC and payments feature, it is highly unlikely that people would be willing to drop the $399.99 on it. Just how credit cards expire after a certain period of time because of their chip, the smart rings would need to be replaced in order to continue making payments.

I think this is one of the major reasons why companies like Samsung, who want to establish their place in the smart ring industry, would rather capitalize on the tech they already use in their other form factors, the smartwatches.

Security is another possible reason for this. As you know, a wearable watch requires a screen lock to enable cashless payments, which is not possible for a screenless ring (though it’s smart). So, I think it’s possible that security might need to be addressed adequately if Samsung were to go down the NFC route.

Is There a NFC in the Galaxy Ring’s Future?

Although I don’t believe Samsung will add the NFC contactless payments to their Galaxy Rings since the ring might become obsolete after the expiry of the NFC chip, but never say never, right?

Based on my research, Pak’s statement at the Unpacked Event might mean they are working on the possibility and will unveil the payment abilities later. Until then, consider the Samsung Galaxy Smart Ring for the varied health and fitness metrics it provides.

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Wrap Up

With a plethora of smart rings already available in the market, Samsung was expected to add contactless payments to stand out from the crowd. While that wish did not manifest, Samsung came out with something that the biggest shark in the tank, Oura, lacks- no subscription model.

While this certainly comes as a relief from the “subscription fatigue,” if Apple somehow works its way around it and introduces Apple Pay with the Apple Ring, it might be a smart ring war in the tech world. I, for one, can’t wait to see how it pans out.