Isis Wallet Released But Google Has an Answer

Isis, the mobile wallet initiative that has the backing of AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA, and Verizon Wireless, released today on the Google Play store. To use Isis, you need to be a subscriber to one of these three carriers, download the Isis app on an NFC enabled phone, and also install a SIM card with a secure element (some carriers make you pay for the SIM).

Isis is also incentivizing adoption (read: bribing) new users by offering free Cokes and Jamba Juice smoothies. Isis currently has support for American Express, AmEx Serve, and Chase cards, though in its recent trials, it also supported Barclayscard, Capital One, and Discover. Capital One pulled out of trials, hinting at some underlying issues, though Isis says its still working with issuers and banks to increase the number of supported cards.

Google recently released its flagship Nexus 5 smartphone. With it, comes an update to the Android operating system, now in its 4.4 iteration, code-named KitKat, which is also rolling out to other Android devices.

KitKat is making waves in the payment space for enabling support for host card emulation. Basically, any device with an NFC chip can be used to make payments without the need for a secure element. More importantly, Google Wallet (which was blocked by carriers) can now circumvent the network carrier ban.

On paper, both apps serve the same purpose of providing mobile payments and loyalty programs… but Google’s one-upmanship of the carriers seems to be a bigger step for payments and NFC than meets the eye. Since host card emulation allows the transmitting and reception of data, it opens up the potential for not just broader NFC in-store payments, but storage of transit cards, gift cards, and also enabling mobile-to-mobile payments. The carriers’ blocking of Google Wallet came from the fear that Google would completely dominate the mobile payments space, and while it’s too early to tell when and if any solution can dominate the market, Google (along with SimplyTapp) has created a solution that may foster greater NFC usage.