Samsung has indicated to its customers and business partners that it plans to close the Samsung Mobile Wallet application on June 30.
The app launched with the intent of competing with Apple’s Passbook in that it is best used to store membership and loyalty cards for varied businesses. It was never meant to serve as a mobile payment application.
Samsung admitted that, since its mid-2013 launch, the service has not seen the uptake it hoped. Samsung said users’ and partners’ Samsung accounts will be maintained without changes, but the Samsung Wallet app, including its APIs, will no longer function after June 30. Samsung is prepared to launch Samsung Pay later this year.
Samsung Pay will be available to the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge and will power mobile payments at participating retailers.