In the last week of October, Samsung Wallet can send USDC from the app already on 82 million U.S. Galaxy phones. You can pay a crypto wallet abroad, or a bank in more than 60 countries, and the person you're paying can receive local currency without opening a crypto wallet.
Where the money goes
On October 7, Samsung said eligible users will send USDC to compatible crypto wallets internationally, in seconds, with no transfer fee from Samsung. Wallet can also send to qualifying bank accounts in more than 60 countries, in the recipient's local currency, and that person can be paid without opening a crypto wallet. The country list is in the app. Some banks and account types aren't supported, and transfers to sanctioned jurisdictions are prohibited.
USDC is the only stablecoin at launch, and it's the default when you choose Buy Stablecoin. Solana says the fiat on-ramps and off-ramps are built in, so you move between dollars and local currency inside Wallet instead of setting up a separate exchange app. Solana and Sui both provide the blockchain underneath, and Bastion powers the custody and the cross-border framework. Samsung says Coinbase is Bastion's sub-custodian, holding the USDC in Coinbase Prime Vault, and that Samsung itself isn't the custodian and doesn't hold customer funds. You don't manage a private key. Starting a transfer requires biometric authentication on the registered Galaxy device.
The cost to send
Samsung's charge depends on which send you pick. A transfer to a compatible external wallet is $0. A bank transfer has a fee that varies by country and amount, shown before you confirm. The recipient's wallet or exchange may charge a fee of its own, and speed depends on the network. On a bank send, the app shows an estimated delivery time, and that time can change.
Sui says gasless USDC transfers cost $0.00 at the network level, and that you don't need to hold SUI to send. The SUI token isn't supported in Samsung Wallet, and Solana hasn't named a network fee for this launch. Samsung's $0 is its own charge on an external-wallet transfer. A recipient, a bank, or the chain can still add a cost.
This is the first large consumer rollout of a plan Samsung discussed in August, when it said stablecoin savings and payments would reach hundreds of millions of Galaxy phones. Samsung's count for this launch is 82 million U.S. Galaxy devices compatible with Samsung Wallet. Solana puts its own 2026 stablecoin volume above $5.25 trillion.
Samsung says later features may include paying with a stablecoin online, or by tapping an eligible Galaxy phone in a store. Other countries depend on local rules, and there's no date outside the United States. You need to be a U.S. resident, 18 or older, with a Samsung account, on a compatible Galaxy running Android 13 or higher, after identity verification and biometric setup.
If your phone qualifies, the wallet send is the one Samsung prices at $0. The bank fee is whatever the confirm screen shows, for a country and account the app actually supports.
Photo: Torsten Dettlaff / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
