WASHINGTON — In partnership with the Commons Project Foundation, a healthcare nonprofit, tech giant Samsung lets its users store digital versions of their Covid-19 vaccination cards in Samsung Pay.
The feature is currently available only for users in the United States.
“The new feature allows U.S. consumers to download a verifiable digital version of their Covid-19 vaccine record received from leading pharmacies, providers, or health systems and securely store it in Samsung Pay via the Common Health app on supported Samsung Galaxy smartphones,” Samsung said in a statement.
“The feature will roll out over the next two weeks to all addressable devices.”
The smartphone company announced the development recently.
To enable the feature, the Samsung Pay users have to first download the free Common Health app from the Google Play Store and follow the instructions to access their Covid-19 vaccine record from participating pharmacies, health systems, and health providers (not all providers are connected to the system yet).
“Samsung Pay simplifies transactions for millions of mobile device users,” said Rob White, Senior Director of Product for Samsung Pay, Samsung Electronics America.
“As more and more consumers use their Samsung devices as a digital wallet, it is a natural extension to make Covid-19 vaccination records more easily accessible. We are proud to partner with The Commons Project Foundation on this important initiative and to help make life easier.”
After getting access to their Covid-19 vaccination credentials within the Common Health app, the users can add them to their Samsung Pay wallet.
This will make the Covid-19 vaccination pass available on the Samsung Pay app home page.
“Common Health’s collaboration with Samsung marks another important milestone as the availability and acceptance of SMART Health Cards as the standard for digital vaccination records continues to expand,” said J.P. Pollak, co-founder and chief architect of The Commons Project.
“As a leading mobile device manufacturer and digital wallet, Samsung offers a secure and easily accessible place for consumers to store this vital health information. The Commons Project is committed to the continued expansion of our network of partners, empowering users with their own health data to use in enhanced and secure ways.”
However, it is not clear yet whether restaurants, schools, offices, or other places that are requiring proof of vaccination, will accept these electronic versions or not.
Google, in June, launched Android’s built-in passes system to let Android users store a digital vaccine card on their phones. Available first in the U.S., it will rely on healthcare providers or other organizations authorized to distribute Covid-19 vaccines.
On a related note, some states, like New York and California, have introduced their own digital Covid-19 vaccination cards.
(With inputs from ANI)
Edited by Saptak Datta and Praveen Pramod Tewari
The post Samsung Pay Introduces Feature That Lets Users Store Their Covid-19 Vaccination Card appeared first on Zenger News.