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Amazon kills Amazon Wallet six months after launch

Amazon kills Amazon Wallet six months after launch

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Amazon has exited the mobile payments race, but is leaving the door open for a potential return

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Amazon Wallet is officially dead. According to CNET, the company began informing users last night that it would be shuttering its mobile payments app today, removing it from Google Play and the Amazon Appstore. The app allowed users to upload gift, loyalty, and membership cards, but not credit or debit cards. While Amazon officially launched the app in beta, it did pre-load it on to its Fire Phone. Current users will still be able to use cards previously loaded on to Amazon Wallet, but balances will not be updated after today, leaving it up to users to track how much they've spent. "We’ve learned a great deal from the Amazon Wallet beta program and will look for ways to apply these lessons in the future as we continue to innovate on behalf of our customers." Amazon spokesman Tom Cook said in a statement to The Verge.

Amazon hasn't said whether it will get back into the mobile payments game in the near future, but the space is heating up, with or without the online retail giant. With Apple Pay, Google Wallet, and whatever Samsung invariably announces in the coming months, it's looking like everyone will be paying for something with their phone very soon.