Samsung wants to do more with payments than offer a virtual prepaid card. The company plans to grow Samsung Pay this summer by introducing a new “experience” that includes an “innovative” debit card supported by a cash management account. Details are only slated to arrive in the “coming weeks,” but it’ll have help from the financial startup SoFi.

It’s not a surprising move for Samsung. Apple has offered a credit card since 2019, while Huawei is following suit. Google is believed to be working on a debit card of its own. If Samsung doesn’t offer some kind of payment card, it might miss out if these cards turn out to be successful.

In a call, a customer service representative for Travelex confirmed that Samsung Pay payments are down and will continue to be until Travelex resolves the ongoing issue. Any users attempting to make a transfer will be unable to complete the process.

While a number of Britain’s biggest banks have been affected by the attack, Samsung Pay international money transfer is only available to customers in the US, demonstrating the widespread consequences of the hack — many banks and services quietly use Travelex in the background of their operations, as well as UK customers using the service directly.

The Travelex website currently still redirects to an advisory page, informing visitors that the site has been taken down as a “precautionary measure” following the data breach that has seen hackers demand $6 million for the safe return of sensitive customer information. The company maintains that there is no evidence that the data — which includes credit card details and birth dates — has yet been exfiltrated. Samsung was contacted for comment prior to publishing but has yet to issue a statement.

Users of Samsung Pay in the US will be able to transfer money to accounts in 47 countries including India, Mexico, China and the Philippines, with payout options including bank deposits and cash collection. Samsung says this will be the first in-app international money transfer service for users with a native mobile wallet in the US. Mobile payments services are popular in countries such as India and China but not so much in Europe or Northern America.

The payment service is powered by Travelex, the foreign exchange company owned by the Finablr payment platform. The app will show users all the fees and exchange rates their payments will be subject to up front before any funds are transferred, and recipients do not need to be Samsung Pay users themselves.

The money transfer feature in Samsung Pay is available now for US users and the company plans to expand to other countries next year.

Before I get into that, though, let’s first talk about the setup process for Express Transit, as the Apple Pay feature is called. When you go to “Wallet & Apple Pay” settings on your iPhone, you’ll now see an option called Express Transit Card. After you tap on that, you need to select a credit or debit card, which will be used as default payment for your public transit rides. I already have a couple cards saved on my iPhone for use with Apple Pay, so all I had to do was choose one of them. Then, after a quick Face ID authentication, I was ready to go. The entire process took less than a minute.

Once I arrived at the subway station, I just placed my iPhone next to the OMNY reader on the turnstile and then the screen displayed a message that says “GO.” I didn’t have to open an app or unlock my phone to get through, and the same goes for the Apple Watch and Android phone with Google Pay that I tested. The fact that I didn’t have to swipe my old MetroCard to try to catch a train was quite satisfying. Not only because it feels futuristic, but because it means I don’t have to go to a vending machine to refill my card or worry about it getting lost or stolen.

Unfortunately, right now the OMNY system only works for single-fare rides, but the MTA says that by the end of 2020 all types of fares will be supported, including weekly and monthly passes. The other downside at the moment, of course, is that you can’t use this at every subway station or on every bus line. At launch, OMNY is only working at 16 subway stations on the 4, 5 and 6 lines between Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center (Brooklyn) and Grand Central-42nd Street (Manhattan), plus all buses on Staten Island. An MTA spokesperson told Engadget that more stations and buses will get overhauled toward the end of 2019.

Today’s OMNY launch is just the beginning of the MTA’s plan to replace the use of swipeable MetroCard, a system that has been in place since 1993, by 2023. And if you don’t have Apple Pay or Google Pay, don’t worry: The MTA is adamant that it is “platform agnostic,” so you can also use services like Samsung Pay and Fitbit Pay. Additionally, in 2021 the MTA plans to introduce its own OMNY-branded contactless transit card, in case there are NYC residents who would rather not use tech from Apple, Google and others.

A momentous thing is happening in New York City today: They’re finally fixing the subway! Just kidding, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) is rolling out contactless payments for select stations and bus lines. (Because that will address overcrowding, broken air conditioners and aging signal systems!) We already knew that Apple, Google and Fitbit’s payment systems would each be supported, and today we’re learning that Samsung is a-go too.

If Samsung’s press release seems light on details, that’s because it’s the MTA that’s charting a course toward a new system that only uses contactless payment methods. The agency’s plan is called One Metro New York, or OMNY for short, and today’s limited roll-out represents just one early step. The big milestone for 2020 will be enabling mobile ticketing through a forthcoming OMNY app. That move alone would help bring the MTA in line with other public transportation systems, including New York’s own Metro North and Long Island Railroad.

Looking further ahead, in 2021, the MTA plans to issue a new card that’s meant to ultimately replace the yellow swipeable one we use today. That will be available at unspecified retail locations to start, and will expand to vending machines in subway and commuter rail stations by 2022. And, if all goes according to plan, the MTA will retire the swipeable card in 2023.

For now, OMNY is only available on Staten Island buses and 4, 5, and 6 stations between Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center and Grand Central. Again, you can use it with other payment systems too, including Apple Pay, Google Pay and Fitbit Pay. It’ll also work with contactless credit and debit cards. Check it out if you’re so inclined, and remember: be safe, don’t look anyone in the eye and avoid the pole-dancing rats.