Tag: mobile wallet

Mobile payments partnerships snatched up by Isis

The carrier backed digital wallet has just tied up a number of contracts to help its expansion across the nation.

Isis, the mobile payments wallet that is backed by three of the leading carriers in the country has recently announced that it will be going nationwide before the end of the year and it has just tied up a number of important contracts ahead of that rollout.

The announcement is following the pilot trials that have been held at Salt Lake City and in Austin.

The mobile payments wallet has partnered up with Amex, and Chase. The most recent partnership is with Chase, so that their Freedom, Sapphire, Slate, and JP Morgan Palladium cards will be supported by the service. Isis has already reached similar deals with both American Express as well as with Capital One. Once the cards have been loaded into the Isis app, they can be used for completing transactions at any retailers that accept this form of payment.

The mobile payments wallet from Isis is based on NFC technology.

Isis mobile paymentsThis means that in order to make mobile payments through the app, the user simply has to tap the device against an NFC technology enabled point of sale terminal. That said, it has been acknowledged by many industry experts that the adoption of devices that feature this technology remains quite slow. Moreover, there is a great deal of confusion among consumers regarding which devices do and do not have NFC technology. Moreover, Apple has not yet adopted this tech at all in any of the devices that it has released.

It has been suggested that Isis may have a contingency plan that will help to boost its initial traction by holding off its primary focus as a mobile payments service and focusing on the other elements of the wallet app, such as loyalty rewards and smartphone friendly couponing. These have been important drivers in mobile commerce, so it could be that they can make all the difference in boosting the popularity of the app.

This most recent news of the mobile payments partnership with Chase has only managed to open more doors for Isis, as it grows the number of cards that it can support.

Mobile payments U.S. rollout from Isis this year

The smartphone wallet joint venture rumors have been flying and finally an announcement has come.

Though Isis has not seen a tremendous amount of use in its two pilot cities of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Dallas, Texas, it has now reached the point that this mobile payments solution will be expanding to the nationwide scene.

This digital wallet is the result of the efforts of Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile U.S., and AT&T Mobility.

The rumor mill had been closely following this project, as the mobile payments market continues to become increasingly swamped with players, and has been waiting for the solution to be rolled out across the United States. Finally, the news has come and the companies involved in the joint venture have confirmed that it will be available across the country before the year is done.

The mobile payments wallet will be available to more customers and in more locations.

U.S. Isis Mobile PaymentsThe Isis mobile payments solution has undergone a lengthy trial period for three quarters of a year. According to the chief executive officer of Isis, Michael Abbott, “Over the past nine months, we have proven the power of an open platform, creating an ecosystem of literally hundreds of partners dedicated to making mobile commerce a reality.”

Abbott went on to talk about this mobile payments project, saying that “As part of our commitment to consumers, we are incorporating feedback from our pilots into the next generation of the Isis Mobile Wallet as we prepare for national availability later this year.”

In order to use the Isis mobile payments wallet, consumers must have a smartphone with NFC technology. This is the tech that is required for paying, redeeming coupons, and using loyalty cards simply by tapping their smartphones against a reader device. At the moment, only a small percentage of smartphones are equipped with the necessary technology. It is, however, slowly growing in popularity among the manufacturers.

Currently, the only devices that are compatible with the Isis mobile payments are Android based, but the company has stated that it will soon make the digital wallet ready for iOS, Windows Phone 8, and BlackBerry 10.