As Americans Stick With Cards, JPMorgan Drops Its Chase Pay App

Will anything ever pry old-fashioned credit cards out of Americans’ hands?

Even as the rest of the world embraces the idea of paying for stuff with their smartphones, the U.S. is clinging to its cash and plastic -- so much so that even the nation’s biggest bank is struggling to persuade people to switch. Starting early next year, JPMorgan Chase & Co. customers will no longer be able to use the Chase Pay app to pay with their smartphones when shopping in stores, the bank said Aug. 21.

It’s an about-face for a product introduced four years ago so JPMorgan ...