PayPal to Discontinue Apps for Windows Phone, BlackBerry, and Kindle

PayPal recently announced that it plans to pull support for its apps on the Windows Phone, BlackBerry, and Amazon Kindle Fire mobile platforms, as the company doubles down on its new and updated apps for iOS and Android (via CNET). Users on the three operating systems in question have until June 30 to access the PayPal app.

In the blog post announcing the impending sunset of PayPal's app on Windows Phone, BlackBerry, and Kindle, the company mentions that on each platform users will still be able to access the money transferring service, through various internet browsers on PayPal's mobile web experience. PayPal said it hopes this move will help it put all its focus on "creating the very best experiences for our customers."

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.

In addition to internet browsers, those with BlackBerry devices can still send peer-to-peer PayPal payments through the BlackBerry Messenger app, and Outlook users can enable the PayPal add-in feature to deliver payments within the email client.

PayPal's announcement comes a few days after Microsoft confirmed the company is scaling back its mobile phone business. Both Windows Phone and BlackBerry devices have been in a last place competition behind Android and iOS for the past few years, with Windows devices dropping from 2.5 percent of the worldwide smartphone market share in Q1 2015, to 0.7 percent in Q1 2016. BlackBerry fell from an already-miniscule 0.4 percent to 0.2 percent in the same time frame.

The closing of the BlackBerry, Windows Phone, and Kindle Fire apps will allow PayPal to renew focus on its popular iOS and Android applications, which it hopes to "innovate and make enhancements" to as the digital payment landscape continues to evolve. In the same blog post, the company reminds customers that they will have to update to version 6.0 of the PayPal app [Direct Link] between June 3 and June 30. The updated app includes a renewed priority on sending and requesting money along with a cleaner aesthetic.