-
A collaborative effort by several major wireless carriers would let consumers make purchases with their phones, but they may have a hard time keeping banks from taking advantage.
August 2 -
The big news last month that Discover and Barclays would partner with AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile to create a mobile proximity payments platform was the worst-kept secret in payments in the months before it was revealed. Bringing the hardware and software to the venture are little-known mobile wallet maker C-SAM, based in Chicago with strong ties to India, and France-based Gemalto, which acts as a Trusted Service Manager in a number of other similar ventures, according to sources with knowledge of the arrangement who declined to be named.
September 1
AT&T Inc., T-Mobile USA Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. on Tuesday unveiled ISIS, their long-awaited mobile payments joint venture that will route contactless transactions over Discover Financial Services' network.
Barclaycard US, a subsidiary of Barclays PLC, is expected to be the joint venture's first issuer, according to an announcement about the deal.
ISIS is being led by former GE Capital executive Michael Abbott.
"We plan to create a mobile wallet that ultimately eliminates the need for consumers to carry cash, credit and debit cards, rewards cards, coupons, tickets and transit passes," Abbot said in a press release.
The joint venture will rely on near-field communication, or NFC, technology to enable consumers to use their mobile phones for point of sale transactions.
Reports about the three telecommunication giants' joint venture first surfaced in August.
