Isis, the mobile payments joint venture of Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, on Monday announced Chase, Capital One and Barclaycard will place
their credit, debit and pre-paid cards in the Isis wallet when it’s introduced in mid-2012. Together, the banks represent more than 100 million U.S. cardholders.
Adding the three big
banking partners is a key step for Isis as it gears up to compete with Google Wallet, its chief rival in the near field communication (NFC)-based payments space. Both efforts aim to replace physical
wallets with the swipe or tap of a phone at checkout. Google Wallet launched in September with initial partners including Citibank and MasterCard.
Before announcing the three banking partners
today, Isis last year had reached agreements with the top four U.S. payment networks: Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express. After launching in Salt Lake City and Austin this summer, the
Isis Mobile Wallet is expected to rollout nationally.
The banks said they will tailor their cardholder services to the Isis wallet, providing users a way to pay, redeem coupons and participate
in loyalty programs. “Chase is committed to making mobile commerce a reality,” said Richard Quigley, president, Chase Card Services, in a statement. The bank last week also made an
undisclosed investment in mobile payment startup GoPago.
An initial smartphone
screenshot of Isis shows the ability to load payment and loyalty
cars, a news feed and directory of merchants, and the ability to follow merchants to receive offers and deals.