Isis Mobile Wallet Gains Backing of Major Credit Card Companies

ASPEN, Colo. -- Isis, the mobile wallet venture among AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, has formed key relationships with the four major credit card companies.

Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express are joining with Isis to bring mobile commerce to U.S. retailers and consumers. As a result of the relationships, mobile devices will become mobile wallets for retailers and consumers with Isis-enabled phones and payment terminals.

"Since the formation of Isis in November, we have been committed to building a mobile commerce platform that aligns and advances the interests of consumers, merchants and banks," said Michael Abbott, CEO for Isis. "By working with the nation's payment networks -- Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express -- 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."

Isis plans to go live in its initial test markets -- Salt Lake City and Austin, Texas -- in the first half of 2012 with support from all four payment networks.

"Visa has long championed an open approach to mobile commerce that allows consumers to choose which account they want to enable for mobile payments," said Joe Saunders, CEO of Visa Inc. "We are committed to working closely with Isis, handset manufacturers, platform providers and financial institutions to offer consumers a suite of mobile services -- mobile payments, coupons tailored to location and lifestyle, real-time account information and more."

With Isis, consumers will be able to use their mobile phones to make point-of-sale purchases through the use of near-field communication (NFC) technology. Consumers will also be able to redeem coupons and store loyalty cards through the secure system.

"Discover has been working with Isis from the start to facilitate mobile commerce, which will provide added convenience and benefits to consumers while delivering increased loyalty and sales to merchants," said David W. Nelms, chairman and CEO of Discover. "Isis' open strategy is the right approach to establishing a highly secure environment for mobile commerce that will be achieved through the participation of banks and payment networks like Discover."