The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) has reportedly pulled its SIM-based near-field communications (NFC) mobile payment app from the Google Play store.
According to a report, the CIBC said the move was prompted by more popular payment alternatives being offered by Samsung and Apple.
In 2012, the CIBC inked a partnership with Rogers, the telecom company, to roll out a NFC payments service for Blackberry handsets and then expanded to Android smartphones in 2013. Last May, it introduced support for Apple Pay and is now one of only five big banks in Canada to offer support for Samsung Pay as well. The report noted a spokesman said the new options have “generated a strong, positive client response,” which prompted the bank to end its own app and focus on growing mobile payments in other areas.
Last May, Apple announced it finally secured some major bank partners in Canada, bringing the mobile payments service just beyond the reach of American Express cardholders in the region. At the time Apple said it has added Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and CIBC as partners, along with ATB Financial and Canadian Tire Financial Services. Other major banks, such as TD, Bank of Montreal and Scotiabank, were reportedly signing on soon. The RBC and CIBC are supporting Visa, Mastercard and American Express debit cards, while Canadian Tire is only supporting credit cards for now.
“We are thrilled that seven of Canada’s leading banks, including … every one of the Big Five, are bringing Apple Pay to their customers,” said Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay.
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