Samsung Wallet shuts down... Samsung Pay is coming

Mobile payments is a tricky market to get right, and Samsung Wallet hasn't been able to hit the jackpot - Samsung has told Wallet users that the service is shutting down for good on 30 June.

"Unfortunately, the usage rate of Samsung Wallet was not what anyone expected," lamented Samsung on the Wallet website. "We greatly appreciate all your support and enabling Samsung users to enjoy your content and service through Samsung Wallet."

Any Wallet-related apps and widgets will cease to function after that date and Samsung says it will destroy its database "in accordance with our privacy policy". The platform launched in February 2013.

Cash and grab

All is not lost though, because Samsung has something bigger and better in the pipeline, which we heard about at MWC in March: Samsung Pay. We know it's arriving this summer so that fits in almost exactly with the demise of Samsung Wallet.

We asked the company for confirmation of a Samsung Pay launch date but were told there was nothing new to announce yet beyond the details we got at MWC. How much of Wallet makes its way into Pay remains to be seen, but Wallet is definitely on the way out.

Whereas Samsung Wallet was more of a Passbook-style service for managing coupons and loyalty cards, Samsung Pay is a fully fledged payments system - you'll be able to swipe your phone for purchases at supported retailers, and so on - so it's taking on Apple Pay directly.

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