Dive Brief:

• Amazon has released its Amazon mobile wallet app, preloaded on its “Fire” phone and available on its app store and Google Play.

• Amazon Wallet works at points-of-sale, but doesn’t support mobile payments or even store credit cards. Rather, it stores loyalty cards and gift cards, including those of third parties, which can also be organized via Amazon’s website.

• The Amazon Wallet online can store and use credit cards to shop at Amazon, but nowhere else.

Dive Insight:

Presumably, this launch is meant to be a sort of amuse-bouche, a taste of a full-fledged Amazon Wallet to come. Some observers have questioned the move for its limitations and for its point-of-sale application in light of Amazon’s online dominance.