Mobile Payment Venture Isis Signs On Bank Partners

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.

Next story loading loading..

Discover Our Publications