Amazon has pulled its credit card reader a little over a year after launching it.
The online retail giant announced Amazon Register for the US market in August 2014. It was a compact, affordable credit card reader that plugged into a smartphone or tablet, and was aimed at small businesses who couldn’t really afford to set up an expensive register system.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because Amazon Register was set up as a direct rival to Square. The company even undercut Square’s processing fees in a bid to gain a foothold in the market.
However, Amazon Register evidently hasn’t proved to be a success. The company stopped selling the card reader on Friday, and has issued a statement on the matter on the Amazon Register website.
“Effective October 30, 2015, we are no longer accepting new customers,” it says. “Existing customers can continue to use Amazon Register until February 1, 2016, when we will discontinue to service. We regret any inconvenience that this may cause.”
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The post then goes on to explain how existing customers can access their reports and transaction history, as well as obtain replacements if necessary.
Amazon didn’t provide any reason for ending the Register payment service, but it seems the company was unable to secure enough of a user base to make the service worthwhile. Given that it was undercutting the likes of Square, it’s unlikely Amazon was making any money off Register whatsoever.
Next, see how we got on with Apple Pay when it first launched in the UK:
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
