Today, Isis announced the addition of Visa, MasterCard, and AMEX to its mobile wallet and that puts the joint venture (in terms of card network support) ahead of the Google’s own Google Wallet initiative. Google Wallet is expected to go into trials in three cities this fall with MasterCard and First Data as payments partners. Isis isn’t scheduled to pilot its approach in Salt Lake City and Austin, TX until 2012. But it is hard to argue with a strategy that accommodates nearly all branded payment cards in the U.S. market.
Michael Abbott, CEO, Isis, says: “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.”
Joe Saunders, CEO, Visa, adds: “Visa has long championed an open approach to mobile commerce that allows consumers to choose which account they want to enable for mobile payments. 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.”
