Google Wallet to Discontinue Prepaid Cards

After seemingly overcoming a series of security issues, Google is cashing out of the prepaid payment card market next month. The Web giant began telling users yesterday to get busy spending whatever balances that remain on their cards because they will be discontinued on October 17. The prepaid card was made obsolete with the introduction of the ability to use any debit and credit cards with Google Wallet.

Google announced on August 1 that its payment system was moving to the cloud, meaning it would be able to accept all major credit and debit cards. Debuting in mid-2011, Google Wallet was touted as an innovative yet simple way to pay for purchases using just a smartphone and near-field communication (NFC) technology. However, mass adoption of the mobile commerce platform was hampered by having just a few methods of payment, including the Google prepaid card, which could be reloaded by any existing credit card.