I dropped these 5 habits — and Samsung Wallet instantly got better

I have three smartphones, but my four-year-old Samsung Galaxy S21 is the one I use most, especially when I'm going out.

It makes my life easier because all my payment cards and IDs live on Samsung Wallet.

However, having a Samsung Wallet is one thing, but knowing how to use it smartly is another.

It made a lot of difference when I quit using Samsung Wallet in a certain way and adopted new tricks for a better experience.

While its performance can depend on several factors, I made it faster by dropping a few of my old habits.

It took some time to build muscle memory, but I eventually did it because I could immediately spot the difference it made.

I dropped these five habits, and Samsung Wallet instantly became better at serving what I need from it.

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By  Rahul Naskar

Opening the Samsung Wallet app after unlocking the phone

One of the biggest conveniences of using a digital wallet over a physical one is that the former allows users to be quicker with showing IDs and making payments.

This is true even if you open the app the traditional way and then perform those actions.

While it's already fast, I was mighty impressed with how things got even faster with its swipe-up-from-bottom gesture.

It can launch the Samsung Wallet app instantly, eliminating the need to search for it on your phone and then tap to open.

I came to know about it by accident after a few months of using Samsung Wallet on my Galaxy S21, and I have never looked back since then.

But when I look back at those days, I regret not doing enough research on the swipe gesture, because years later, I accidentally found out another aspect of the feature that I should've known from the day I discovered the swipe-up gesture.

The late discovery forced me to unlock my phone each time I wanted to use Samsung Wallet to make payments or show IDs.

While it took me a while to develop muscle memory, I no longer accidentally unlock my phone to make payments through Samsung Wallet.

I can use the same swipe-up gesture from the bottom of my Galaxy phone to open Samsung Wallet when my phone is locked.

It's enabled by default, but you can change it from the Quick access page in the Google Wallet settings.

Ignoring the ability to set a default payment card

I don't have too many cards stored in Samsung Wallet, and that helps a lot while making payments at POS terminals.

However, you can take the number factor out of the equation by setting up a default payment card.

When I set up a default card, Samsung Wallet will always use it to make payments, not the one I used last time, which, in turn, makes payments faster.

I use my credit card to purchase most of the things I need, so I've set it up as the default payment card.

Samsung Wallet always opens to the default payment card, so I don't need to swipe left or right to find the credit card I use the most for making payments.

Not only is it easy to set up, but you can also quickly change your default payment card. To do so, tap the card, select the three-dot menu, and then choose Set as default payment card.

Ignoring card priority

In addition to the default payment card, I've also stored two more payment cards, which I use occasionally.

Even when I need to use them, I don't swipe left or right mindlessly to find what I'm looking for.

I was able to do it only after figuring out how to organize my payment cards in an order based on how often I need them. The easiest way to do it is by using the swipe-down gesture.

Open the Samsung Wallet app, swipe your thumb down to display all your cards and IDs in a stacked view, tap and drag the card to wherever suits you best.

Ideally, the card or ID you need the least should be behind those you use the most.

Since I don't have too many cards and IDs stored in Samsung Wallet, it was easy for me to remember their order. It's worth it because doing so saves me time.

Relying on multiple payment apps

I started making online payments way before I first used Samsung Wallet, and it made me dependent on the one I used before I switched to the Galaxy phone.

To be more specific, I was heavily reliant on Google Pay back in the day. It could be one of the reasons I failed to explore Samsung Wallet well enough, mistakenly thinking it was just another app to make payments.

Since I was using two payment apps, tracking spending wasn't easy, either. On the contrary, Samsung Wallet allows me to make a payment even from my Galaxy Watch.

The convenience lured me into using the Samsung Wallet as my primary payment app, replacing Google Pay. I haven't missed Google Pay even once since I made the switch.

I can now better track my spending and earn reward points on purchases made using Samsung Wallet to buy Samsung products.

Using Samsung Wallet for things it's weak at

Samsung Wallet works only with Samsung handsets, but it doesn't stop you from installing another wallet app on your Galaxy handset if need be.

In addition to the Samsung Wallet, I also use Google Wallet to store tickets and passes, which are hit-or-miss on the Galaxy maker's wallet app.

I'm afraid it won't be able to match Google Wallet's way of handling them, so I stopped complaining about it and accepted that it's a blind spot for Samsung.

Both Samsung and Google are partly to blame for the poor ticketing and pass experience on Samsung Wallet, though I have no reason to believe that things will improve anytime soon.

Whatever the case may be, I've stopped using Samsung Wallet for storing passes and tickets altogether. It doesn't improve the app itself, but it does improve my experience.

Samsung Wallet immediately felt better the moment I stopped expecting to be good at everything.

Samsung Wallet easily replaces my physical wallet

I'm not a fashion enthusiast, but I dislike the bulge that physical wallets create. I can ignore the aesthetic side, but I can't get past the discomfort it causes when I sit with it in my back pocket.

I continued using it until I got my hands on the Samsung Wallet app for the first time in 2021. I have never looked back since then because I hardly needed to.

In the last four years, I have carried my physical wallet only twice because either authorities were asking for a physical ID or I had to make payments in cash.

Since I also rock a Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, Samsung's wallet app makes even more sense because I don't need to take my phone out of my pocket to make payments. That's how well Samsung Wallet works across different types of Galaxy phones and wearables.

I couldn't be happier because what was already great now feels even better, thanks to my newly developed muscle memory. Those habits make me love Samsung Wallet even more.