Author: Shao Jiadian
Samsung is preparing to let users transfer stablecoins directly within their phone wallets.
On October 7, Samsung Electronics America announced plans to open USDC functionality to eligible U.S. Galaxy users during the last week of October 2026. USDC is a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar. Users can hold and transfer it through Samsung Wallet, and can also send remittances to eligible bank accounts in more than 60 countries, allowing recipients to receive local currency.
This feature eliminates the need to install a separate crypto wallet and manage private keys oneself, bringing stablecoin transfers into the phone wallet users are already familiar with. Phone manufacturers already have devices, account systems, and user entry points, and Samsung's approach offers them a way to add payment and collection services.
Samsung plans to open USDC functionality to eligible U.S. users. Source: Samsung Newsroom U.S., announcement dated October 7, 2026.
Behind the operational convenience, accounts, custody, and remittances still require professional institutions to provide. Samsung chose to connect these capabilities into its own wallet. When other phone manufacturers adopt similar partnership approaches, which operations they prepare to participate in and which markets they open to will directly affect their own liability.
I. In Samsung's wallet, who is handling users' money?
Samsung Wallet provides the familiar user entry point. Accounts, asset custody, and fund transfers are provided by regulated partners. According to Samsung's announcement, Bastion supports the relevant payment framework, Coinbase acts as sub-custodian and safeguards USDC through Coinbase Prime Vault; Sui, Solana, and others provide blockchain network support. Samsung does not hold customer funds.
Bastion supports the payment framework, Coinbase provides sub-custody. Source: Samsung Newsroom U.S., announcement dated October 7, 2026.
**With these partners, users can use two transfer methods within the same wallet.** If the recipient uses a digital asset wallet that supports the corresponding network, they can receive USDC directly; if the recipient uses a supported bank account, they can receive local currency. The latter method also requires currency conversion and bank payment, and the recipient does not need to open a separate crypto wallet.
Samsung does not charge a transfer fee for sending USDC to external wallets, but the recipient's wallet or trading platform may charge one. Remittances to bank accounts incur fees, which are displayed before the user confirms. Gas-free transfers supported by Sui eliminate on-chain network fees, but currency conversion and bank payment fees are still calculated separately.
The service is planned to first open to eligible U.S. adult residents, and users must complete account opening and identity verification steps. Bank accounts in more than 60 countries can receive funds, referring to the range of remittance destinations; senders must still meet the account opening requirements for U.S. users. Online shopping and offline tap-to-pay payments are follow-up plans mentioned by Samsung.
II. Connecting stablecoins into wallets: to what extent are manufacturers prepared to participate?
Samsung's partnership offers other phone manufacturers an integration approach. However, the same transfer button may sometimes only direct users to a third party, while in other cases it is already arranging transactions on the user's behalf. What liability the manufacturer itself bears depends on the actual operations behind the button.
If, after clicking the entry point, users enter a partner's page, open an account with the partner, and the partner provides quotes, collects funds, and transfers funds, the manufacturer is mainly responsible for display and technical connection. In overseas markets that permit such partnerships, this arrangement usually makes it easier to delineate each party's work. However, if the manufacturer also collects transaction instructions, promises arrival, or charges commissions per transaction, it needs to further consider local requirements for transaction services, promotion, and solicitation.
**To make operations more convenient, manufacturers may also place partner accounts within their own wallets, allowing users to open accounts and transfer funds without leaving the page.** This arrangement requires informing users who the service provider is and having users accept the corresponding terms. Backend permissions must also be consistent with the division of labor: even if assets are nominally held by a third party, if the manufacturer can transfer assets through account recovery or administrator permissions, it may still involve custody and asset control responsibilities. The name "non-custodial wallet" needs to be supported by actual permission arrangements.
If several service providers are further integrated to compare quotes and select channels on users' behalf, an aggregation service is formed. Accepting orders, determining execution conditions, and automatically arranging conversion and transfers may involve the corresponding qualifications for exchange, brokerage, or payment services. Users should also be informed whether recommendation rankings are affected by commissions. After adding merchant collection functionality, it will also involve collecting and settling funds on behalf of merchants, and the scope of partners' services and the manufacturer's responsibilities must be adjusted accordingly.
III. Choosing partners also depends on which market the service targets
The integration approach must also correspond to the rules of the target market. Samsung first opens the service to U.S. users, while other manufacturers need to determine, based on where their users are located, which company provides accounts, custody, conversion, and transfers respectively, and whether each party has the corresponding qualifications.
**Cross-border remittances also involve the receiving location: whether the sender can open an account and whether the receiving end can complete conversion and bank payment both affect whether the money can be delivered.** Samsung's support for remittances to multiple countries relies on the corresponding service arrangements. When choosing partners, manufacturers must also verify the remittance routes they plan to open, rather than only looking at how many countries are supported.
Taking the United States as an example, companies need to separately consider federal-level money services business registration, anti-money laundering obligations, and state-level money transmission and digital asset business requirements. The common MSB is a federal registration and cannot be treated as a payment license covering business across the entire United States.
Singapore's rules remind aggregation platforms that they may be regulated even without holding user funds. The relevant amendments implemented since 2024 have brought certain activities facilitating token transfers and exchanges within the regulatory scope. Therefore, whether a manufacturer directly safeguards assets is only part of the assessment of its business; it also depends on whether it organizes or facilitates transactions.
**Hong Kong also has requirements for stablecoin purchase channels and currencies.** Under the Stablecoins Ordinance implemented since August 2025, a party offering specified stablecoins to users must fall within the permitted categories, and the currencies offered to retail customers must also meet the requirements for licensed issuance. The fact that a wallet can display the balance of a certain stablecoin does not determine that it can be opened for purchase to local retail users.
A partner's license may cover custody but not necessarily conversion or remittances; the authorization scope of different companies within the same group may also differ. Manufacturers should match the contracting company, service market, and specific functions, and confirm who legally provides each step in the product.
IV. Even with partners in the backend, users will still turn to the phone wallet when problems arise
Even if financial services are provided by partners, what users see and operate every day is still the phone manufacturer's wallet. If a balance is frozen or a transfer does not arrive, users are most likely to contact the wallet's customer service first. Therefore, in addition to enabling transactions to be completed, manufacturers also need to ensure that problems can be handled.
This work begins on the account opening page. Who provides the account, what asset the balance is, how to convert it back to fiat currency, and how much the fees are should be explained before users begin using the service. Users usually rely on service providers for selling or conversion channels, while direct redemption from the issuer is subject to eligibility and rule restrictions. Although stablecoins are pegged to the U.S. dollar, price deviations, restricted addresses, or service suspensions may still occur, and promotions must not describe them as bank deposits or promise unconditional redemption at any time.
**Whether users can recover assets also depends on the custody arrangement.** Partners should separate customer assets from their own assets, clarify asset ownership and use, and agree on extraction and migration methods after institutional failure or termination of the partnership. Merely assigning users an independent wallet address is still insufficient to resolve legal issues of asset ownership and return.
For phone wallets, account recovery deserves particular attention. Recovering a phone account may simultaneously restore authority to operate funds. If ordinary after-sales processes are followed, opportunities may be left for account thieves. The recovery process should incorporate identity verification and security measures commensurate with asset risks, avoiding a design intended for convenient account recovery that instead makes funds easier to transfer away.
When a transfer fails, customer service must also be able to explain where the money is stuck. For example, if USDC has already been sent but the bank refuses payment, it is necessary to identify who holds the pending assets, how to return them, and who bears the conversion difference and fees. Only by agreeing in advance on handling processes and time limits between manufacturers and partners can users be prevented from going back and forth among several companies without ever getting an answer.
V. Anti-money laundering and data protection must also be integrated into the wallet
During transactions, service providers need to continuously identify customers, sources of funds, and transaction risks in accordance with applicable rules, handle transactions involving sanctioned entities, regions, or addresses, and transmit payer and payee information when required. Manufacturers are responsible for front-end operations and partners for fund services, and the information held and measures taken by both parties need to connect.
**This connection needs to be reflected in systems and daily operations.** After a risk hit, who intercepts, reviews, and reports in accordance with the law, and how transaction status is synchronized to wallet customer service, must all be clearly arranged. Even after assigning review work to partners for execution, each party must still fulfill its own statutory obligations.To complete reviews and transactions, the parties will process identity documents, bank account details, on-chain addresses, and other materials. Once this information is linked to mobile phone accounts, it may form detailed personal financial records. Manufacturers and partners should, in accordance with applicable data protection rules, limit the scope of collection and sharing, and properly handle notice, consent, and cross-border transfer requirements. Local fingerprint verification on the device must not become a reason to provide biometric data to partners by default.
**Attorney Summary by Mankun Law**
Samsung's approach offers mobile phone manufacturers a cooperation path: using existing wallet-linked accounts, custody, and fund services to make it easier for users to use stablecoins. Whether this path can be adopted depends on the specific transaction permissions, the service market, and whether the qualifications of partners can cover the functions planned for launch.
Before integration, manufacturers should walk through a complete cycle of a user's funds from account opening and deposit to final receipt, and then examine how to handle account theft, failed transfers, and termination of cooperation. The front end can be made simple, but the responsibility behind it needs to be assigned to specific companies and actual processes. When users encounter problems, the wallet should be able to explain where the money is and provide actionable solutions.
This article discusses the product and compliance arrangements for mobile wallets integrating stablecoins, for industry research purposes only, and does not constitute investment advice, product promotion, or legal opinions on specific projects.