Samsung Wallet to add USDC transfers for 82 million US Galaxy phones

Samsung Electronics said on October 7 that it will add USDC stablecoin transfers to Samsung Wallet, reaching 82 million eligible Galaxy devices in the United States. The service is due to go live in the last week of October 2026.

The company set out the plan on its Samsung Mobile Press site. Eligible users will be able to buy USDC inside the wallet and send it to crypto wallets or to bank accounts in more than 60 countries. Samsung said it does not hold customer funds. It is not a bank, a money transmitter or a digital asset custodian.

Who holds the money

Two partners sit behind the feature. Bastion, a licensed stablecoin infrastructure and custody firm overseen by US financial regulators, runs the cross-border payment framework. Coinbase acts as Bastion's sub-custodian and safeguards the USDC through its Coinbase Prime Vault. The blockchain networks Solana and Sui provide the rails the transfers move across.

USDC is the first stablecoin Samsung Wallet will support, and it is the default choice under a new Buy Stablecoin option. Every transfer needs biometric approval on the registered device. Samsung Next, the company's investment arm, had already backed Bastion, which raised $14.6 million in a round led by Coinbase Ventures in September 2025.

What the launch covers, and what it leaves out

The first release is narrow. It is open to US residents aged 18 and older who have a Samsung Account and a compatible Galaxy device running Android 13 or higher. Each person must pass identity checks and set up biometric sign-in before sending anything.

Sending USDC to another crypto wallet carries no Samsung fee, though the receiving wallet or exchange may charge its own. Bank transfers cost money, and the fee changes with the destination and the amount. The app shows the fee and an estimated arrival time before the sender confirms.

Store payments are missing. Not at launch. Samsung lists online checkout and tap-to-pay in shops as things it may add later, with no date attached. The 82 million figure counts devices, not people, and the service reaches only eligible US residents for now.

Why Samsung wants a wallet full of dollars

Phone makers want a cut of the money that moves between apps. Stablecoins give them a way in without building a bank. Samsung first flagged stablecoin support at its Galaxy Unpacked event in July 2026, but it named no partners then. A year earlier, in October 2025, its Coinbase tie-up reached about 75 million US Galaxy users.

Woncheol Chai, executive vice president and head of Samsung's Digital Wallet Team, framed the goal in plain terms. "Sending money abroad should feel as convenient as using the wallet already on your phone," he said. Lily Liu, president of the Solana Foundation, called the move a step toward everyday stablecoin payments. Alec Lovett, Coinbase's head of infrastructure products, said Samsung's reach marks a milestone for USDC distribution.

There is reason to keep the cheering down. The announcement describes a product that is not live yet. The date is soft. Samsung has not published the full country list or a fee schedule. What reads well in a press release can shift before late October.

What to watch

Watch the launch date first. Samsung has pointed to the last week of October without naming a day. After that, the fee table for bank transfers will show whether this undercuts the remittance apps people already use. The wider question is how far Samsung takes it. Store payments, more stablecoins, and markets outside the United States all sit on the maybe pile.