Samsung Pay app receives screen-off fingerprint activation

Samsung Pay is currently in beta testing in the US. As such, Samsung is updating its mobile payment app with new features and tweaks to improve the user experience ahead of the full roll out. A new version of the Samsung Pay app (version 1.3.1716) has arrived, offering a number of improvements to the user interface.

The main new feature in the app is the ‘Simple Pay’ menu, which offers up a selection of ways to launch the payment app quickly. The options allow users to turn the current home screen and lock screen fingerprint sensor swipe gesture on or off and also adds in a third feature, which enabled the option to open up the app using the fingerprint scanner even while the screen is off. A particularly useful feature if you just want to make your payments as quickly as possible.

Cards registered with the app have undergone a visual change with the update too. Instead of having to tap on the card to see information, the virtual card number is now display alongside each card by default. There’s also a new ‘About’ screen in the app, which comes with an update button to check for the latest software.

Samsung will likely keep updating its Pay app up until and beyond its US launch on September 28th. How are you finding the beta so far?