O2 Wallet To Shut Down On 31 March

O2 says it will close its O2 Wallet mobile payment service at the end of March, citing changing market conditions as the reason for its demise.

“When we launched the O2 Wallet 18 months ago we were one of the first mobile wallets around. Since then lots has changed for us, the market and our customers,” the operator explained. “So, we’ve decided to close the O2 Wallet to give us time to look into new and better ways to help people manage their money on the move, both in the UK and abroad.”

It said customers were notified of the closure on 9 January via email and they will have until 31 March to spend or withdraw the funds in their account.

O2 Wallet shut down

If users do not do this, any remaining balances will be returned through a transfer to the bank account users supplied when registering or as a cheque to their address. Those who have moved house or changed bank details since then should notify O2 as soon as possible.

O2 Wallet was launched in April 2012, combining secure transfers, shopping, price comparisons and other functions, while a physical card was also available.

Rival operator EE announced its own mobile payments service, Cash on Tap, in July, allowing users to make contactless payments of up to £20 using an NFC-enabled device, while Vodafone also has plans to launch its own wallet service. In fact, all three operators have been working together on a mobile wallet joint-venture previously known as Project Oscar and now called Weve.

This will compete with Google Wallet platform, which now allows users to make payments using a physical card, but only in the US.

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