Those COVID-19 vaccine cards are becoming more important, as some places have started requiring proof of vaccine to get in. Samsung aims to make it a little easier to prove that you're vaccinated by allowing you to store your vaccine info in Samsung Pay.
Samsung announced it will roll out the update that allows you to add your vaccine info to Samsung Pay over the next two weeks. Adding your vaccine information will only be available in the United States, which prevents a lot of people from taking advantage of it.
The vaccine data will come from the CommonHealth app, which can be downloaded from Google Play. You'll need to register for an account and verify your information to ensure that you are who you say you are.
You can then tap "Add to Samsung Pay" to take the data from the CommonHealth app and move it to your Samsung pay app. Once you do all that, you'll get a digital version of your COVID-19 vaccine card and a QR code that you can use quickly and easily.
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," said Rob White, Sr. Director of Product for Samsung Pay, Samsung Electronics America.
The biggest issue with something like this is acceptance---will the places that require proof of vaccine take this as acceptable documentation? There doesn't seem to be a standard for vaccine card verification out there. Some businesses will take a simple picture of your card from your phone, and some are stricter. We'll have to wait and see if anyone has issues getting Samsung Pay's vaccine card accepted.