The Galaxy Card Is Samsung's Answer To the Apple Card (wired.com)
(Tuesday July 21, 2026 @11:00AM (BeauHD)
from the walled-garden dept.)
- Reference: 0184541884
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/07/21/0551243/the-galaxy-card-is-samsungs-answer-to-the-apple-card
- Source link: https://www.wired.com/story/galaxy-card-is-samsung-answer-to-the-apple-card/
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired:
> Nearly seven years after Apple [1]debuted the Apple Card, Samsung is [2]following the iPhone maker's footsteps with the Galaxy Card , aiming for its own slice of the credit card market. The [3]announcement comes two days before Samsung's second Galaxy Unpacked event of the year, where it's expected to showcase new smartwatches and folding smartphones. The Galaxy Card is issued by Barclays on the Visa network; the Apple Card, originally issued by Goldman Sachs but now [4]transitioning to Chase , is on the MasterCard network. There is a physical card -- it's not made of titanium but recycled steel.
>
> The virtual card will be provisioned to a user's Samsung Wallet account. With no annual fee, Samsung says cardmembers can earn 5 percent cash rewards on all in-store or online purchases made directly from Samsung in the US, 3 percent cash rewards on purchases made with the Galaxy Card using Samsung Wallet, 2 percent cash rewards on streaming service subscriptions, and 1 percent cash rewards on everything else with the physical card. The cash rewards can be redeemed as a statement credit or transferred to a checking or savings account. The annual percentage rate (APR) varies by cardmember, but the card has no foreign transaction fees. Other perks include a 20 percent discount on Samsung's VIP Advantage membership, which offers extended device protection, specialized support, and exclusive deals, and $200 in cash rewards after spending $2,000 in the first 90 days.
>
> Applications open up on July 22. The Samsung Wallet app is only available on Samsung smartphones and watches, so what happens if a consumer switches to a different smartphone brand? The company says Galaxy Card is not limited to Samsung device owners and that anyone can use the physical card, but you lose the key perks; the card can be managed through a BarclaysUS.com online portal. (Similarly, if an iPhone owner switches to Android, their physical Apple Card will still work, but they lose access to the Apple Wallet app and the 3 percent daily cash perk on Apple purchases; there's a web portal to manage the account.)
[1] https://news.slashdot.org/story/19/03/25/1810226/apple-debuts-apple-card-to-transform-the-credit-card-experience
[2] https://www.wired.com/story/galaxy-card-is-samsung-answer-to-the-apple-card/
[3] https://news.samsung.com/global/introducing-samsung-galaxy-card
[4] https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/01/chase-to-become-new-issuer-of-apple-card/
> Nearly seven years after Apple [1]debuted the Apple Card, Samsung is [2]following the iPhone maker's footsteps with the Galaxy Card , aiming for its own slice of the credit card market. The [3]announcement comes two days before Samsung's second Galaxy Unpacked event of the year, where it's expected to showcase new smartwatches and folding smartphones. The Galaxy Card is issued by Barclays on the Visa network; the Apple Card, originally issued by Goldman Sachs but now [4]transitioning to Chase , is on the MasterCard network. There is a physical card -- it's not made of titanium but recycled steel.
>
> The virtual card will be provisioned to a user's Samsung Wallet account. With no annual fee, Samsung says cardmembers can earn 5 percent cash rewards on all in-store or online purchases made directly from Samsung in the US, 3 percent cash rewards on purchases made with the Galaxy Card using Samsung Wallet, 2 percent cash rewards on streaming service subscriptions, and 1 percent cash rewards on everything else with the physical card. The cash rewards can be redeemed as a statement credit or transferred to a checking or savings account. The annual percentage rate (APR) varies by cardmember, but the card has no foreign transaction fees. Other perks include a 20 percent discount on Samsung's VIP Advantage membership, which offers extended device protection, specialized support, and exclusive deals, and $200 in cash rewards after spending $2,000 in the first 90 days.
>
> Applications open up on July 22. The Samsung Wallet app is only available on Samsung smartphones and watches, so what happens if a consumer switches to a different smartphone brand? The company says Galaxy Card is not limited to Samsung device owners and that anyone can use the physical card, but you lose the key perks; the card can be managed through a BarclaysUS.com online portal. (Similarly, if an iPhone owner switches to Android, their physical Apple Card will still work, but they lose access to the Apple Wallet app and the 3 percent daily cash perk on Apple purchases; there's a web portal to manage the account.)
[1] https://news.slashdot.org/story/19/03/25/1810226/apple-debuts-apple-card-to-transform-the-credit-card-experience
[2] https://www.wired.com/story/galaxy-card-is-samsung-answer-to-the-apple-card/
[3] https://news.samsung.com/global/introducing-samsung-galaxy-card
[4] https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/01/chase-to-become-new-issuer-of-apple-card/
To paraphrase a line from Jurasic Park (Score:2)
by blahbooboo2 ( 602610 )
"Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
the sweet sweet middle man (Score:2)
"Hell yeah, a credit card!" - people I don't get
Re: (Score:3)
The apple card is pretty great. Solid titanium "cool" card to whip out. An app with incredibly tight design and integration and spending awareness info. Never get anything like that from a bank..
Re: (Score:2)
Apple Pay is pretty cool... when it works. My daughter runs into a lot of situations where she can't use it and has to ask me for money. Or maybe she's just pretending it doesn't work to make me pay for her shit... I don't know.
Re: the sweet sweet middle man (Score:2)
I use it anywhere I can tap to pay, even if the Apple Pay logo is explicitly shown...I can only think of a very rare time when it didn't work.