Isis

Not sold yet on the magic of mobile payments? Sprint's recently posted YouTube video hopes to sway you to the light. This comes hot on the heels of Google saying it plans to bring Google Wallet to 10 phones this spring, one of which is Sprint's own Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

Though Sprint's version of the Galaxy Nexus isn't scheduled to hit stores until sometime in the first half of this year, it's clear the carrier is already revving up its PR and marketing machine. The quick two and a half minute video expounds the theoretical virtues of using your smartphone to shop in the physical world with virtual cash. … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--You would think Michael Abbott, who runs a joint venture aimed at deploying mobile-payment services across the nation, would want to take a shot at Google and the early stumbles it's had with its rival digital wallet.

You'd be wrong.

"I applaud Google for addressing the problem quickly," Abbott said in an interview with CNET today. "It's best for the industry if we move on."

Isis, a joint venture backed by AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile USA, has taken a slow, methodical, and some would argue frustrating, path toward deploying … Read more

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

BARCELONA, Spain--Isis, a mobile-payments joint venture among three of the major wireless carriers, is taking the slow and steady approach to its mobile wallet. And it appears to be working.

The venture, formed from an alliance between Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile USA, said today that BarclayCard, Capital One, and Chase will place their debit and credit cards into the Isis mobile wallet. The agreement marks a further strengthening of the circle of partners for Isis.

While Google has shot out with its Google Wallet service, Isis has taken a more methodical approach in its digital wallet, lining … Read more

If you follow any of my coverage, then you know I have a healthy interest in mobile payments.

When people think mobile payments, they think about the act of paying for goods by waving a smartphone at the cash register. But I'm more interested in the implications that come from the capability. You're seeing it now with the introduction of Google Wallet, which wants to use payment history to better serve discounts and advertisements. It's what comes next that is so exciting.

But as we're seeing with Google Wallet, as well as other attempts to bring … Read more

Verizon's Galaxy Nexus is expected to launch in the coming weeks without Google Wallet, at the carrier's request.

The phone, which was developed by Samsung in partnership with Google, will debut with the Web giant's mobile payments system disabled by Verizon's choice, a Google spokesman told CNET, confirming a story first reported by Computerworld.

"Verizon asked us not to include this functionality in the product," a Google representative told CNET.

It's unknown whether that omission is related to Isis, a partnership Verizon Wireless formed with AT&T and T-Mobile USA in an … Read more

Michael Abbott, the CEO of carrier-backed mobile payments joint venture Isis, has an interesting take on rival Google Wallet: "It's the best thing that could happen."

That's not the sort of thing you would expect to hear from the head of a venture that is planning to roll out its own mobile-payment system, designed to allow consumers to tap their phone on special terminals to pay for goods. Abbott, however, holds a longer-term view of the business, and believes that the entry by multiple parties is a good thing. It generates greater consumer awareness, stirs the … Read more

American Express plans to dabble in mobile payments and other forms of digital commerce at an arm's length, preferring to throw cash at startups rather than launch its own major initiatives.

The company said today that it will invest $100 million in startups that are designed to address mobile and online payments, security, reward and loyalty programs, and other forms of digital commerce.

This represents American Express's primary stab at the booming digital-commerce business, a potentially lucrative area that has a large number of players all vying for position. American Express's low-key approach stands in contrast to … Read more

Google today launched a new set of capabilities to its mobile payment service that it hopes will draw in more early adopters.

Customers can use their Google Wallet-armed smartphones to redeem coupons and earn rewards points, something it calls the SingleTap experience.

The new feature marks the first major enhancement since the summer launch of Google Wallet, which enabled consumers to pay for goods and services by waving their smartphones at special payment terminals found in drug stores, retailers, taxis, and some train stations.

Google has been aggressively pushing the service as it attempts to take an early, dominant role … Read more