Isis, the mobile carrier-led mobile payments venture that initially planned to compete against incumbent payment networks, now says it has formed relationships with them.
The joint venture said Tuesday that by working with Visa Inc., MasterCard Inc., Discover Financial Services and American Express Co., merchants and consumers that use its developing mobile payments system "will have ubiquity and freedom of choice when it comes to payment network acceptance."
Isis stressed in a press release that its new relationships underscored "Isis' inclusive approach" to delivering technology that would allow consumers to use their handsets as a payment device.
"By working with the nation's payment networks … we significantly advance the vision of an open and secure platform that provides banks and merchants with a new and highly relevant way to connect with consumers," Michael Abbott, the chief executive of Isis, said in the release.
Isis is a joint venture of AT&T Inc., Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC. The wireless carriers announced the formation of Isis in November, as well as their plans to develop a mobile payments system that would route transactions over Discover's network. Barclaycard US, part of Barclays PLC, signed on to be the first issuer of Isis accounts.
Earlier this year, Isis announced intentions of working with other payment networks as well as allowing other card issuers to partner on the service. Isis is planning to run two tests of the service next year in Austin, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah. It plans to allow consumers to pay for purchases using phones embedded with near-field communication chips, which allow them to be waved in close proximity to special merchant terminals to transfer payment and other information. The system would also allow customers to redeem coupons and other offers at certain merchants.
The company faces competition from Google Inc., which is testing its own mobile payments system this summer in San Francisco and New York. Citigroup Inc., MasterCard and Sprint Nextel Corp. are among Google's first partners.
