Amazon ends its student loan partnership with Wells Fargo, six weeks after launch

Amazon’s latest perk — discounted student loans, aimed at Amazon Prime Student customers — is no more, according to a report from Bloomberg, and confirmed by both companies. The partnership between the online retailer and Wells Fargo was announced this July, and saw the lender offering a 0.50 percent interest rate discount to students who joined Amazon Prime’s Student membership program.

The partnership represented Amazon’s first foray into the world of student lending, and made sense for both parties.

Amazon was able to offer students another perk as part of its Prime membership program, which also includes things like free, two-day shipping, streaming TV and movies, free photo storage and more. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo gained access to a targeted demographic – students looking to fund their education with loans, or refinance their existing ones.

The program would have given Wells Fargo, the second-largest private student lender by origination volume, an advantage versus competitors by gaining access to Amazon’s student customer base.

Both a Wells Fargo and Amazon spokesperson simply confirmed to Bloomberg the promotion ended, without offering more details.

The promotion was originally described as a multi-year partnership, so it’s unclear at this time why it has been dissolved only six weeks after launching. The Amazon site detailing the program now redirects visitors to Wells Fargo’s student loan site instead.