Samsung Pay has been promised for the UK for over a year, since the launch of the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge smartphones in fact. Now it's ready for public consumption and Samsung has launched it for Galaxy S8, S8+, S7, S7 edge, S6 and S6 edge phones. The latter is subject to a software update.

It will also be available on "additional devices" in the UK in the coming months.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphone users also have the option to use the iris scanner on their devices to make payments, however the contactless payment service works similarly on all supported handsets.

Samsung Pay will work wherever you can use a contactless debit or credit card, including the London Underground and other travel networks.

You just swipe up from the bottom of the screen to bring up the last used credit or debit card and confirm the purchase through the fingerprint sensor or iris scanner.

It currently works with several UK payment cards, including Mastercard and Visa cards issued by MBNA, Nationwide and Santander. Other partners, such as American Express, First Direct, HSBC and M&S Bank will be added soon.

It is not yet known whether the system works with magnetic strip technology, as demonstrated on the Galaxy S6 at launch. That would expand the service's reach to also include include compatibility with non-contactless payment devices in stores up and down the country.