Samsung Pay Adds New Online Payment Options
It now supports Mastercard's online Masterpass service and in-app payments.

Samsung Pay already works in a lot of places because of its canny MST magnetic tech, and the company is taking steps to make the service even more ubiquitous. Starting next year, it will work with Mastercard's Masterpass, letting more users buy online from a computer or handheld device, skip the usual form-filling and authenticate with a fingerprint. (Mastercard also made Masterpass deals with Android Pay and Microsoft Wallet earlier this week.)

Samsung has expanded support for in-app payments in the US, and is now available as an option with Velocity, Hello Vino, Fancy and other retailers. There's also a new Deals option that helps you find and redeem discounts instantly at nearby stores. And Samsung Pay now works with Capital One and USAA, bringing its bank partnership count to 500, or around 85 percent of the US debit and credit card market.

Finally, Samsung has expanded Pay to Russia, Malaysia and Thailand, so it now works in 10 countries.The service is a bright spot for the company, which desperately needs one after its Galaxy Note 7 debacle. As one of our commenters put it, the only problem with it is a lack of retailer awareness that it'll work on a non-NFC terminal just by placing it next to the magnetic (card swipe) reader. "It's cool to use it and get that awesome look from cashiers."