Paypal Ends Support For Windows Phones On June 30

PayPal is downsizing the number of platforms it supports to an exclusive club of just two: Android and iOS. On June 30, the company will end support for three major platforms, including Windows phone.

PayPal has not offered precise information as to why this decision was taken, it only offered a short answer explaining that the company chooses to focus on the remaining platforms in order to deliver the best possible experience for users.

The good news in this confusing story is that Windows Phone owners will still be able to access PayPal on mobile web using Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge browsers. Outlook users can still send money straight from their inbox using PayPal’s platform.

For Windows Phone users, we will sunset the current version of the PayPal app on June 30. […[ 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.

PayPal’s decision to end support for Windows phones is very surprising. They have obviously done their costs/ benefits analysis, but a company of its size could easily find the necessary resources to support a native PayPal app for Microsoft’s phones. There are still millions of Windows phone users and many of them do use PayPal, therefore PayPal has cash coming in from this direction.

Maybe the company’s decision was also influenced by the recent Microsoft-Foxconn deal. Nevertheless, Microsoft sold only the feature phone business, not the entire smartphone fleet. Moreover, the upcoming Surface Phone is expected to be a total success, increasing Windows phone’s pool of users.

What is more worrying is that if the recent Microsoft-Foxconn deal did indeed influence PayPal’s decision, other developers and platforms could soon follow, leaving Windows phone users with even fewer app options.

On a side note, while some companies end support for Windows phones, others such as Starbucks are working to developer native Windows phone apps.