Samsung Pay is being launched in India today, and here's everything you need to know

After the surge experienced in electronic and digital payments following PM Modi's demonetisation exercise, mobile handset major Samsung is now openly eyeing the Rs 1,659 crore a month market opportunity with its own digital payment application, called Samsung Pay. Here's all you need to know:

1. Samsung had granted early access to the application to select users, and users of their Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge+, Galaxy A5 (2016), and Galaxy A7 (2016) can also register online to get early access.2. At this stage, before the formal launch, the service can be availed of only by account holders of the Axis, HDFC, ICICI, SBI, and Standard Chartered banks. Citibank and American Express will soon be added to this list.

3. Its technology is both NFC (Near Field Communication) and MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) compatible. Hence, it works with any card swiping or reading machine that accepts payments either by the swiping of the card or through contactless payments, where the card just needs to be waved over the terminal.

4. The user has to follow the standard procedure that most digital payment apps prescribe, and link their bank account and cards to the app. Payments can then be made by opening the app and bringing the smartphone near the NFC-enabled point-of-sale (POS) machine, with the amount required to be paid entered by the vendor on the POS machine. The payment goes through using the paying user’s fingerprint or a four-digit PIN, which is a feature that Apple and Android Pay lack.

5. While Samsung phones like the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, as well as their upcoming launches, the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+, will be readily compatible with the service, many of their other handsets will also be able to join the party after a software update. However, a lot of Samsung's lower-end phones will not be compatible with the app.

The application is set to launch here in India later today.