Amazon's Prime Air Won't Deliver Big Gains Anytime Soon

The Federal Aviation Administration has quietly quashed

initial plans for an unmanned delivery service. Amazon was not explicitly prohibited from proceeding with the project, but the FAA released a few specific rules that will effectively ground

. Most notably, a drone (categorized as a "model aircraft") cannot be used to deliver packages to anyone for a fee. This detail (which was first spotted by

) will make it very difficult for Amazon to bring Prime Air to the masses.

When Prime Air was first announced, some bloggers argued that it was

. Unlike other publicity stunts, such as the

-inspired

, Amazon has not backed away from its futuristic concept. From day one, the company has insisted that this is a

. On June 13, Amazon started

in Nevada. The company also hired a

to improve its success in working with congress. All told, Amazon could spend millions (if not billions) on a project that may never get the FAA's approval. Regardless, Amazon seems to be focused on the long-term potential. "There is so much that needs to be cleared from a regulatory perspective, let alone consumer acceptance," Dr. Windsor Holden, Research Director at Juniper Research, told Benzinga. "If you clear those hurdles, then you could see significant traction in the longer term." Dr. Holden recently authored a report on the growth of digital payments. He estimated that digital payments will reach $4.7 trillion in 2019 versus an estimated $2.5 trillion in 2014. For the time being, he doesn't expect Prime Air to capture a significant part of that growth. Disclosure: