Only six months after launch, Amazon has appeared to have pulled its beta Amazon Wallet app, in the wake of a raft of poor reviews, having averaged 3.1 stars on the Google Play store. This product could only use Amazon vouchers and credit as a means of payment, and was consequently not well received by users, who did not see the point of it. Pointedly, all its main competitors seem to have more comprehensive products and strategies in this space – Apple Pay accepts credit cards, Google appears to be on the verge of buying Softcard, the US carrier mobile payments venture, and PayPal have released a card reader compatible with Windows devices. Notwithstanding this, and with many news sites are announcing this as the end of the road for Amazon’s mobile payments ambitions, I suspect that it is still too early to tell, and would not be surprised to see a reincarnation, perhaps in the guise of some strategic acquisition.
