Jawbone Up4 Users to Lose Amex Connection

Given that even Jawbone is moving somewhat away from the fitness tracker to focus on medical devices, it’s not all that surprising to see users start to lose some functionality. A new report notes that Jawbone users—specifically those using the Up4 system—will be among these, as American Express functionality will be lost starting in February.

Essentially, American Express is planning to disconnect the card that’s been paired with the Jawbone Up4 on February 1, 2018, unless the disconnect was already done. Either users can perform the disconnect manually or it will be done automatically, so users have the option of going either way. As for why the shutdown is occurring to begin with, reports note that it’s basically just a matter of a partnership expiring, not being renewed, and so everyone involved going their separate ways whether the user base likes it or not.

Some language spotted at the Jawbone website also suggests something going on here:

AliphCom dba Jawbone (the “Company”) has entered into an assignment for the benefit of creditors. As a potential interested party, should you believe you have a claim against the Company, please click here.

With Jawbone itself seeming to move away from wearables, posting material like that publicly, and Amex not re-upping its partnership, it seems that the best explanation here is just Jawbone getting out from under wearables in general. Wearables as a whole haven’t been doing well over the last couple of years; new offerings in the space were comparatively few, and old offerings weren’t being updated very briskly.

This is likely bad news for the users, who lose a perfectly worthwhile option when it comes to mobile payments, but it should prove to be little more than an inconvenience. If there’s one thing we know, it’s that there are plenty of options when it comes to mobile payments. We enjoy a downright surfeit of these options, and it’s not surprising to see some of these start to depart the market.

Finding a replacement for Jawbone Up4 should not be difficult in the slightest, especially given that the device connected to smartphones routinely anyway. While it will be an inconvenience, Jawbone Up4 users can take some solace in being able to get their mobile payment options back on track fairly quickly.