Amazon ditches mobile wallet

Amazon has pulled the plug on its mobile wallet, a mere six months after the limited offering launched.

The e-commerce giant began informing users by email on Tuesday that it planned to shut down the beta and remove the app from stores on Wednesday, CNet reported.

Users will still be able to use any gift, loyalty or membership cards stored on the app, but balances will no longer be updated, meaning that users will have to track them themselves. Amazon Wallet was launched in late July, allowed users to store and manage gift, store and loyalty cards for in-person and online transactions on the app.

The limited offering was met by negative reviews, as, unlike its many competitors, it could not be used to manage credit or debit cards. It faced the most trouble from in-store use, with reviewers noting that they were unable to find a merchant able to scan the app, and that it did not work with the Amazon Fire Phone, which has faced its own criticism.

Amazon did not address whether the wallet would return to a very competitive market. Apple Pay is evidently doing well with those willing to shell out for the new handset required. Google and PayPal, who have been in the mobile payments market for some time but have yet to make it big, are reportedly both approaching payments startup Softcard in order to raise their game. It may be that Amazon focused on m-commerce rather than in-store payments for a time, or comes back with a streamlined wallet.

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