These days, it seems that every tech company, whether well-established or startup, is promoting its own credit or debit card Samsung today (May 27) announced its own debit card called Samsung Money by Sofi

Naturally, Samsung Money connects directly to the Samsung Pay app on the company's smartphones From within Samsung Pay, users can easily apply for a cash management account and card When the card issued by MasterCard arrives in the mail, it can be activated with a simple tap, without the need to call a phone number

Indeed, the lack of obligation to speak to a representative or use an inconvenient automated phone service to change accounts is one of Samsung Money's core themes Flagging suspicious activity, freezing and unfreezing cards, and changing PINs can all be done within the Samsung Pay app This is unique because some financial services do not allow customers the same autonomy

As you might imagine, usage rewards are part of the equation When you connect your Samsung Pay account to your Samsung Rewards account, you earn points for each purchase, which can then be converted into discounts on Samsung products These points can also be redeemed for cash

The cards themselves have no number, expiration date, or CVV code They all exist only within the Samsung Pay app and are protected by another form of authentication, whether biometric or PIN code Samsung Money accounts are FDIC-insured up to $15 million, which is "six times more than a regular bank account," the company notes In addition, customers can earn "higher interest than the national average," although Samsung does not provide further specifics

There are no account fees associated with Samsung Money, but the fine print at the bottom of the press release states that this could change at any time Any cell phone that already works with Samsung Pay can also be used with Samsung Money Customers also have access to a network of more than 55,000 Allpoint ATMs and will not be reimbursed for fees incurred when using an out-of-network ATM

Samsung Money is expected to launch later this summer Interested parties can join the waiting list and sign up for the latest updates on the Samsung Money website