Canada's suretap has become the latest telco-led mobile wallet venture to go to the wall, with the outfit deciding that it cannot compete in an increasingly crowded field.
The app for the SIM-based NFC payments service has been pulled from the Google Play and Blackberry World Apps stores and will no longer work after 26 August, a notice in the suretap site says.
The suretap app was first launched in 2014 by Rogers but was rebooted last year as a joint venture with Bell, Telus, Koodo and Virgin. Cibc came onboard, letting customers add its credit cards to the wallet, while gift and loyalty cards could also be added.
However, with banks introducing their own options such as Ugo, Apple Pay arriving in the country and Android Pay and Samsung Pay set to follow suit, suretap is throwing in the towel.
Telco-led mobile payments services have not fared well in other markets. American outfit Softcard folded earlier this year, selling off its assets to Google, while British JV Weve gave up before even launching.
Just days ago Semble, a mobile payments JV from some of New Zealand's biggest telcos and banks, said that it is shutting down its wallet app and changing business focus.