Amazon Closing WebPay, Drops P2P Altogether

When it comes to transferring money between individuals, cash still reigns supreme. Still, some entities have tried to break into the space, digitally speaking, with PayPal and Square being two notable ways to do so. A potentially big player in the person-to-person digital payment sector was Amazon, but they're shelving their offering next month.

On October 13, Amazon WebPay is shutting down for good. If you're using WebPay, you'll want to make sure all your transactions are submitted before then. Otherwise, you'll lose the ability to send or request money for good. According to Amazon, their WebPay offering is "not addressing a customer pain point particularly better than anyone else. We've learned a great deal about how and when customers want to send money and will look for ways to use these lessons in the future."

What we can glean from this is two-fold. First, Amazon really never put much emphasis on WebPay, leaving it floundering while the company focussed their efforts elsewhere (something they'll do more of now that WebPay isn't requiring any man-power). Second, the mobile payment space is crowded, with apps like Square Cash or PayPal dominating the "send money to friends" space.

Via their WebPay FAQ page, Amazon notes they're not offering alternatives to WebPay. That likely means Amazon is pulling out of the person-to-person payment segment altogether, instead focussing on their online point-of-sale solutions for retailers.

Amazon is offering a 30-day grace period on transactions initiated ahead of the October 13 shut-down. If you use WebPay, now's the time to find another solution.

Source: Amazon