Complete Digital Wallets Comparison: Apple Pay vs Google Pay vs Samsung Pay vs Huawei Pay vs Mi Pay/Xiaomi Pay - Ultimate Guide
Manger
Jul 19, 2025
15 min read
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The mobile payment industry has made the world of transactions much different than before. After all, it is an entirely different way you can do transactions. Gone are the days when a person needed to travel to their bank to get their transactions done and out of their hair. The area wherein four mobile wallet services are pitted against each other and are trying to get more substantial market shares is the main subject of this comparison. The piece also tries to solve one of the major problems that the digital wallet market faces-having too many services to choose from. It naturally follows that the digital payment solution you choose will influence your everyday financial security more than anything else. Therefore, this text is the feature-by-feature comparison of these five top digital wallet solutions: Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Huawei Pay, and Mi Pay/Xiaomi pay which will help you to understand the pros and cons of each product and make the right decision for your particular situation.
If you confuse the international transactions, the fees, and the security side of the things, the guide goes through all those areas that a new user will need to understand about the modern e-wallets. The user can take an in-depth view of every platform from countries of operation and credit card partnerships to the investment instrument and the means to transfer funds. It is evident from the readings that they have also taken steps to beef up the number of accepted cards, access to other fintech features, and money transfer solutions, and so the number of payment methods is continually rising.
Apple Pay: Complete Overview
Supported Countries and Global Availability
Apple Pay is available in 75+ countries and territories globally, which makes it one of the largest footprint digital payment systems. The service allows users to make contactless payments in just about every store with an Apple Pay symbol and it is also accepted in dozens of countries around the globe. It works with credit and debit cards from banks across the world.
Major Supported Regions:
North America: Canada, United States
Europe: France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Russia, and others
Asia-Pacific: Japan, Singapore, Australia (Australia is fully functional in Apple Pay, China is in the process of limited service, and South Korea is not supported yet).
Middle East: UAE, Saudi Arabia
Latin America: Brazil, Mexico, Argentina
Accepted Cards and Bank Support
Apple Pay connects to the major card networks being Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. The app includes credit, debit, and prepaid cards from the issuing banks and financial institutions. Users have the option to either scan the card with the camera or select the one already stored in iTunes. This however will depend on the banks' policies and might not always be the case.
Fee Structure and Costs
Apple Pay will not inflict any extra charges for goods paying outside the country of residence. On the other hand, if a bank or card issuing authority is imposing a foreign transaction fee aside from the one they collect for purchases, the user will still be obliged to pay it. A fee of approximately 0.15% of the cost of the purchase in the US is transferred to Apple. The transaction fee is levied on banks and merchants, not on customers.
Key Fee Information:
The beneficiaries of Apple Pay do not have to pay any monthly fees
Apple is not charging any transaction fees
The fees for foreign transactions can vary of your card issuer.
In Switzerland, the transaction fees for a credit card where a bank pays Apple Computer are 0.275 CHF per card on a quarterly basis plus 0.12% for the transactions in credit cards
Money Transfer and Investment Features
Apple Cash empowers customers to execute cash transactions on the US market and beyond the realm of the limited ether in the Wallet of the Messages app. The provision is active for the adult category and the living space is within the domain of the United States. Families that have signed up for Apple Cash have breaks on account usage e.g. 2000$ for a seven-day period.
Apple Cash Features:
Peer-to-Peer payments in the US only
Compatibility with Apple Card credit card
Tap to Cash for in-person transfers (iOS 18)
No international money transfer capabilities
Security and Authentication
Apple Pay is very sensitive when it comes to the security measures and can be identified using the following:
Touch ID and Face ID authentication
Secure Element technology
Tokenization of payment data
Device-specific account numbers
Secured transaction
Setup and Requirements
Setting up Apple Pay is a quick and easily achievable process:
With Google Pay being discontinued in June, the platform has been replaced by Google Wallet, which not only retained the features of Google Pay but also added new capabilities. Currently, Google Wallet is the service that Google Pay has turned into and it is available in over 86 countries globally for Android & Wear OS. Through the process of globalization, Google Pay has expanded its availability and is already accessible in more than 50 countries and regions worldwide. The expansion of the availability of Google Pay will continue.
Regional Availability:
Primary Markets: United States, India, and Singapore
European Union: Most of the EU member states were in favor of
Asia-Pacific: Great extent of coverage not only Australia and Japan but also
Money Transfer: Send money options are already operational within US, India, and Singapore
Card Support and Banking Integration
Adopted Google Pay is compatible with most major payment networks and it is linked to hundreds of millions of cards that are stored in Google Accounts. Here's what it lets you do:
Credit and debit cards from principal banks
Prepaid cards where available
Store credit cards and loyalty cards
Digital gift cards
Fee Structure
Standard transactions through Google Pay are free of charge, but certain fees are still to be covered by users such as for bank and card network use. The structure of charges rises and falls depending on the realization of specific services:
Fee Breakdown:
No monthly subscription fees
Absence of Google Pay transaction costs
Debit cards are typically free within the US, but international charges may also apply
Foreign transaction fees are to be paid in accordance with card-issuing institution policies
Money Transfer Capabilities
Google Pay is capable of domestic money transactions for free using debit cards or bank accounts with no fees. Nonetheless, international money transfers have to be done by third-party companies like Wise, which has a minimum fee of 0.41% for 80+ countries.
Transfer Features:
Domestic transfers (US): Free with debit cards (fee may apply to credit cards)
International transfers: Through partnerships (fees apply)
Instant transfers with supported banks
QR code transactions in supported nations
Investment and Financial Services
Google Pay connects to different financial services:
Bill pay services
Borrowing services from contracted lenders
Linkage with financial investment platforms
Cashback and loyalty programs
Security Measures
The system of Google Pay includes its own authentication, transaction encryption, and fraud protection. The service is based on secure tokenization and also provides fraud alerts.
Samsung Pay is available in a really large number of countries such as the United States, Canada, China (only for transit), Spain, United Kingdom, Singapore, Australia, Brazil, Russia, Malaysia, UAE, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, and South Africa. In June 2022, Samsung Pay changed its name to Samsung Wallet in the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
Unique Technology Advantages
Samsung Pay had originally supported both Near Field Communication (NFC) and Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) technology. On the other hand, from the Galaxy S21 model and later those, the first technology was used only (NFC). This change brings about the fact that the new units are essentially unable to work at MST-enabled terminals.
Supported Cards and Banks
Samsung Pay accepts:
Visa, Mastercard, and American Express cards
Debit and credit cards from participating banks
Gift cards and loyalty cards
In Saudi Arabia, Samsung Wallet allows you to add not only Visa and MasterCard but also Mada cards
Fee Structure and Costs
People who use Samsung Pay do not have to pay any monthly fees. It is a totally free service in terms of download and use. However, banks will charge you standard fees:
Cost Structure:
No monthly subscription fees
The no-fee policy for transactions is guaranteed by Samsung
Bank may charge you a foreign transaction fee if you use the card abroad
Basic cardholder fees are applicable
Rewards and Benefits
There are a host of incentive programs that Samsung Pay can offer:
Cashback feature on payments made through selected merchants
A points program through affiliates
Promotions involving cashback
Discounts with the partner merchant
Regional Features
In South Korea, Samsung Pay, in addition to online payments, also supports ATM withdrawals. While in China, Samsung Pay has provided the opportunity to pay in-app, use public transportation cards, as well as QR code payments (e.g. Alipay, WeChat Pay). For India, Samsung Pay has enabled payment through UPI and BharatQR for bank accounts and bill payments.
Device Compatibility
Samsung Wallet has embraced a myriad of devices, including Galaxy S series, Note series, Z series foldables, and select A series devices, which are capable of running on Android 10 or above.
Huawei Pay is available in Russia, Hong Kong (China), Macao (China), Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia. The service is present in much fewer countries, among them only a few are not in Asia, compared to other digital wallets, and its global coverage is weaker. This is mainly due to the device brand.
Access Card Availability: Access card functions are also applicable to Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, and other Southeast Asian countries.
European Market Expansion
In January 2022, Huawei initiated the use of NFC details with the help of a partnership with Curve in Europe. The main targets of this project were HMS phone users, namely those who owned P50 series. The results of this partnership are as follows:
A one-stop digital wallet for all cards
Cashback options from range of brands
Support for multiple currencies
"Go Back In Time" feature for transaction reversals
Anti-embarrassment mode for declined payments
Banking and Card Support
The Huawei Pay system is in agreement with the most significant card networks worldwide whenever possible:
Visa and Mastercard (primary networks)
Various regional payment systems (differs from country to country)
UnionPay cooperation in specific markets such as Singapore
Agreements with local banks
Fee Structure
The general rule for Huawei Pay is that there are no fees for users:
No monthly subscription charges
No transaction fees from Huawei
Bank and card issuer fees may apply
Promotional periods may offer cashback up to 3% and additional shopping rebates up to 8%
Huawei Ecosystem Integration
HUAWEI Wallet is a fully-fledged digital wallet that allows users to have bank cards, transportation cards, loyalty cards, coupons, access cards, etc. without needing any physical cards.
Limited Reach Internationally
Users can also utilize their bank cards in other countries/regions via Huawei Pay, provided that the bank card in question allows the user to use it in other countries. However, this primarily relies on the bank's regulations.
The Development of the Service and the Up-to-Date Status
Mi-Pay is a mobile payment system based on contactless NFC technology that also accepts credit, debit, and public transportation cards. It was initially put to the market by Xiaomi in association with UnionPay. Nevertheless, the service has seen a radical transformation since then:
Withdrawal from India Market: Back in December 2018, Xiaomi launched Mi Pay in India and the first co-operation partner there was ICICI Bank. However, on October 28, 2022, the company had to cancel the aforementioned financial services in the Indian market, which were Mi Pay and Mi Credit, and concentrate its resources on the main business to operate efficiently.
Present Geographic Reach
As per Mi Pay/Xiaomi Pay, it's up and running albeit not in all regions:
China: That's the homeland of Mi Pay, i. e., there the complete service related to Mi Pay is available
Europe: Payments that do not involve any physical cards through Xiaomi wearables are enabled by NFC (for instance, Mi Smart Band 7 NFC, Mi Smart Band 6 NFC, Xiaomi Watch S1 series) and Mastercard and VISA cards are acceptable
Limited Regions: Only a few wearable payment features are available, that too in selected countries
Technical Specifications and Types of Payments
Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro, Xiaomi Smart Band 7 NFC, and Xiaomi Smart Band 6 NFC are devices that are compatible with the service. The fact is, the availability of NFC is different for each country or region.
European Banking Support:
Mastercard and VISA integration
Regional bank partnerships
ZEN.COM Mastercard compatibility
India Service Features (Discontinued)
During its duration in India, Mi Pay enabled UPI integration, bill payments, mobile recharges, money transfers with a daily limit set at Rs. 1,00,000, and utility payments. The service was in-built on all Xiaomi phones until it was no longer available in the market.
Fee Structure
Xiaomi has the authority to change fees or charges if necessary in the future. Users need to inquire with their banks about any applicable transaction charges for UPI transactions.
Current Limitations
Significantly reduced global presence
Limited to devices that can be worn in the majority of markets
Mi Pay full functionality is only available in China
Financial services in major markets like India have been cancelled
The digital card market is filled with a big number of available products, which can all be divided based on the user needs and the user's geographical place. Apple Pay and Google Pay/Wallet are both worldwide and feature-rich, while Samsung Pay has certain positives. On the other hand, only a few people support Huawei Pay and the computation of Mi Pay is no longer valid due to the end of their services.
Key Takeaways:
Global Users: Google Pay/Wallet provides global coverage that is the most comprehensive
iOS Users: Apple Pay is really the best one for those who manage to create the account because of the ease of setup
Samsung Users: Samsung Pay guarantees the most secure and fastest rewards to its clients
Limited Options: Huawei Pay and Mi Pay are really low or no despite the rights they have due to their limited availability
Not only the device ecosystem being the primary criterion but also the mixture of all the requirements, programs of travel, connections with banks and the technology you seek must be the guiding points to use the mobile wallet. The case is that not just one, but several digital wallets are a better solution for most; that is because the merchant and region define the extent of acceptance.
The entire digital payment industry is continuously shifting and this can be attributed to the birth of new features, extended coverage, and better security measures frequently. Update yourself with the latest information about the digital payment platforms you are using and other financial products in your market to cover the digital payment ecosystem comprehensively.
This detailed comparison highlights the latest data currently on the market. As for the service availability, fees, and features, those may change. Always, always confirm the current terms and conditions with the real service providers before making any significant financial decisions.
