What Is Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) And Why Is It Important For Mobile Payments?

Mobile payments are the new normal in India, where a large chunk of the user-base now make a payment using their smartphones, mostly via apps like Paytm, Google Pay, or PhonePe at places like hotels, shops, and restaurants.

When it comes to mobile payment in India, Samsung has been the front-runner, thanks to Samsung Pay, which allowed users to make payments using their smartphones even before the launch of the UPI payment system in India.

Samsung has been using MST technology to offer a mobile payment solution for a long time. MST or the Magnetic Secure Transmission is a technology, that is also found on credit and debit cards, which securely stores the data on a magnetic strip.

How Does Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) On Samsung Phone Works?

One of the main advantages of MST technology on Samsung phones is that it can be used with regular PoS payment machines (magstripe reader) which usually accepts credit and debit cards. Do note that, the MST technology is only available on the Samsung flagship smartphones.

A Samsung smartphone with the Magnetic Secure Transmission technology generates a magnetic signal similar to the signal obtained when a traditional payment card is used. The signal will then be transmitted to the card reader, which can be authenticated using a biometric sensor on the phone like a fingerprint sensor.

This technology solves the hassle of carrying multiple cards, as a phone can store multiple cards, and one can pick a digital card to make a payment. In fact, the newly launched Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra also supports this feature in India.

Samsung Might Kill MST Soon

There is one alarming update regarding MST is that Samsung has removed this technology from the Galaxy S21 Ultra in the US. It means the company might finally put an end to this useful feature even in India from the next-generation Samsung flagship smartphones.