In another setback for BlackBerry users, PayPal will be shutting down its BlackBerry app on June 30. This not only affects the BB OS, but also the Amazon Fire Phone and Windows Phone, according to an announcement made by PayPal in a blog post. Last month, Facebook and WhatsApp also announced plans to end support for their BlackBerry apps.
What options do Blackberry and Windows users have now?
If you are a BlackBerry or Amazon Fire Phone user, then you will not be able to use the PayPal app as the company will be discontinuing it on June 30, said the U.S.-based online payments company.
PayPal’s post did note that users can still access the service via the mobile web version of its website. Also BlackBerry users can continue to send and receive payments via PayPal through the BBM platform, said Joanna Lambert, PayPal’s VP of consumer product, in the blog post. As for Windows Phone users, Outlook.com users can enable the PayPal add-in to send payments directly from the email app.
This is disappointing for some customers, but BlackBerry is seeing some success by going to Android, and future BlackBerry handsets will be powered by it, so users of Android-based BlackBerry phones can just download the Android version of the PayPal app. The Canadian firm is currently working on two more Android-powered phones.
All to improve mobile experience
“It was a difficult decision to no longer support the PayPal app on these mobile platforms, but we believe it’s the right thing to ensure we are investing our resources in creating the very best experiences for our customers. We remain committed to partnering with mobile device providers, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our customers,” the online payments company said.
PayPal did not give much reason as to why it made such a decision but claims it will lead to better service for the remaining platforms. The online payments company said it will innovate and enhance users’ mobile experiences to provide the best possible ways to manage and move money.
Now the U.S.-based online payment giant has reduced the number of mobile OS supported by its flagship app to just two: Android and iOS. It is not a surprise to see that the decision includes both BlackBerry and Windows Phone, but it is quite surprising that PayPal abandoned Amazon’s Android version, which currently runs on the Fire phone and Kindle Fire tablets.
