Today brought news of two new mobile wallet offerings, one from prepaid provider InComm and the other from … SeaWorld. Can we finally say mobile wallets have jumped the shark? (Insert snare-drum sound here.) The SeaWorld app is a “personal tour guide, wallet and coupon book” for park visitors, according to Mobile Commerce Daily. The app is in line with Disney’s MagicBand wristbands containing personal and financial information that allow park visitors to leave their wallets in their hotel rooms. The SeaWorld app gives estimated wait times for rides, starting times for shows, and a feature called Splash that we hope tells visitors when they can expect to get wet. Oddly, the SeaWorld mobile wallet launch comes just days after Square and MasterCard have tossed their mobile wallets overboard (sorry). Just yesterday, Ajay Banga, MasterCard’s CEO, told investors, “I don’t want to be in the wallet business,” because it is a too-crowded space. Now including SeaWorld.
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