Major Mobile Wallet Shuts Its Doors

Norwegian mobile payment service Valyou recently announced it has officially shut down its operations and plans to “wind down” the company.

The company cited stiff competition in the payments industry, coupled with a slower adoption of contactless payment terminals, as the source of the owners’ decision to close down the business.

“The combination of slower than expected activation of NFC-enabled POS terminals and the engagement of more banks and mobile operators into the cooperation has resulted in a much lower than expected end user uptake,” the company’s website states.

In its statement, the company confirmed it made the right decision to support a mobile payment solution and noted the satisfaction of its customers, but explained that the market itself was not ready for its payment solution.

Despite the fact that it considers its mobile wallet to be the “most user friendly and future proofed mobile payment technology on the market today,” the company said its closure is a consequence of a lower than expected consumer interest, which it contributed to slower engagement on the part of additional banks and mobile operators.

Valyou customers will still be able to use the mobile payment offering up until Nov. 30, but the service will be stopped immediately thereafter.

“Users are assured that they need do nothing with their SIM cards and that all bank cards in their mobile wallet will be automatically deleted by the user’s bank,” the company confirmed.

According to Valyou, all of its customers have been alerted to the closure via SMS and its mobile app is no longer available for download from Google Play.

In an English translation of a post on the Valyou Facebook page, the company said: “The other key players in the mobile industry like Apple and Samsung have chosen the same technical platform [which] shows that we have been working in the right direction. Nevertheless, we must accept that we are too early in the relationship to the market, and the liquidation of the business will be the consequence.”