Mmmm... that's the double of price of used S6....

I can't vouch for the accuracy of that statement; I've never heard of that international S6 were missing the coil; I mean, SK actually had Samsung Pay with MST before US did... though I guess they can have a Korean version.
If you have a friend in the States, you can maybe have that person order $99 Boost Mobile version currently on sale:
https://www.boostmobile.com/?INTCID=...es/Black,32GB/

I believe it will be locked to Boost Mobile network so that may be a consideration, or pay to have it unlocked by a 3rd party service; or buy unlocked preowned on Swappa.

I've bought and sold phones on Swappa, and they are pretty legit because they require the phone to go through IMEI check before being listed.

I've also bought and sold phones on eBay and it is relatively safe because of buyer's assurance program now available.

Craigslist would be last resort because you have no recourse, unless it was new phone that has a warranty

With a watch it sometimes easier to reach the reader, like on gas stations. You will need to remove the watch from hand on some occasions.

Understandable, but for me cost has the preference. I don't wear watches last 18 years and already have a phone - need to have less number of stuff carried with me.

Here, there was an article in local paper
askST: Why is Samsung Pay not available for the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge?, Smartphones News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

Thanks for the link. I am going to call them to ask about network locking.

Interesting... I wonder if it is actually missing the MST hardware, or just not enabled in the firmware.

As for Boost Mobile, from what I have read, they are locked to their network and require 12 months of service to unlock. However, perhaps there are 3rd party unlock services that can circumvent that.
I can't vouch for this service since I haven't used them:
How To Unlock Samsung Galaxy S6 By Unlock Code To Work With Any Network

May want to see if they can unlock Boost phones; or check eBay for some services.

Almost certain Boost will not unlock without being a subscriber already.

Good luck.

Former. MST is done via a magnetic coil which was missing in certain models sold in some regions.

Thanks. If all lost, it is $100....

Ok, got old Galaxy S7 specifically for MST purchases - here is Singapore one bank has a promotion to earn 4 miles per $ spent when using Samsung/Android/Apple pay.

Well, my three attempts last weekend to use MST mode ended up exactly in categories above - in one store they told me that they need to insert card with chip to enter amount and don't do swiping.

In two other stores clerks flat out refused to try pay with phone telling that 'we do not accept contactless payments'. My attempt to explain that technology is different was useless - was told 'go and find another store which will accept your payment'. Yes.

When I encountered a lot of resistance because the cashiers/clerks had never been exposed to this, I used to have a physical CC card in hand, pretending I was about to swipe. This typically prompts the cashier to start the process on their end to get the terminal ready for my "swipe". All the while I had my Samsung Pay app open and ready to go. At the last second, I would just casually switch from my card to my phone; and almost all the time, it would just go through without a hitch. Then I would lift my phone up and show the transaction banner flash on the top of the screen and say, look it works. I wouldn't even elude to having Samsung Pay at the beginning.

I did this a couple of times at a local place I frequent, and after the 3rd time doing this, a coworker piped up to the cashier processing my order, saying, "Yes, it does work. Just run it like a regular card".

This obviously is much harder when the terminal/swipe is facing the cashier and not you; for those scenarios, I would ask if they mind I try something new that should work on their older payment systems. Half the time, the cashier would be open to it, other half, it would be no, it doesn't work and it won't. Sometimes just have to gauge the interest/resistance to something they aren't familiar with.

It's a battle sometimes, and really those of us who were early adopters have to push and fight our way into mainstream acceptance :P

One thing I am curious in is whether network connectivity/signal is required to have Samsung Pay work. In my experience, I'm always connected so I see the transaction go through on my phone within seconds of the "swipe". If there isn't a connection to the internet, I wonder if that will cause any issues.

Back to the subject. Do I understand that J7 models sold at Best Buy stores does not support Samsung Pay?

I have a Galaxy S8 and I'm excited to try out MST with Samsung Pay. I think it's getting accepted in fewer and fewer places but I still want to give it a shot.

Where would a good place be to try out MST and see whether it's working/how it feels?

Ideally I would be looking for a

• national chain with standardized systems,
  
• that is open nights/weekends/early mornings so I can try it out without worrying about delaying someone in line behind me,
• with a self-checkout where MST works, and not one of the "eat your card and hold onto it" types like at a gas station.
  

Maybe Home Depot? (I know Walmart somehow did something to block it in the past, so they probably aren't an option unfortunately.) WinCo may be an option too if you don't mind debit and have one in your area.

That said, way more places do NFC now than back when this thread first started, so MST may not be all that necessary anymore. Also, I know that Samsung stopped offering MST on newer devices and may be only activating NFC on older ones (but not sure on that last bit).

The last time I was at Home Depot, they did not accept any electronic payments.

They've taken cards for a while, just not NFC (at least in the US; Canadian ones do take NFC).