Wells Fargo Joins Isis Fold (Dec. 16, 2013)
One month after going live throughout the U.S., the Isis mobile wallet has added Wells Fargo to its roster of bank partners, enabling holders of the bank’s Visa consumer credit cards to load their cards onto the NFC-based wallet. A joint venture of AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA Inc. and Verizon Wireless originally announced in 2010, Isis rolled out nationwide in mid-November after pilot runs in Salt Lake City and Austin, Texas.
With Wells Fargo now in the fold, the bank’s Visa credit cards join American Express’ Serve prepaid cards and several Chase credit cards that can be loaded onto Isis-equipped mobile devices. Capital One and Barclays participated in the Isis pilot, but announced in September that their payment cards no longer would be compatible with the wallet.
The agreement with Isis will be a multiphase partnership, the bank said. “Our customers lead mobile lives and their ability to pay for things should reflect that fact. During this pilot phase with Isis, we will test and learn with customers who want to be on the leading edge of this technology,” said Peter Ho, manager of digital payments for Wells Fargo’s Consumer Financial Services group.
While NFC capability remains far from ubiquitous, there now are more than 50 smartphone models on the U.S. market equipped with NFC-ready technology. Isis last month unveiled a plan to spur the development of NFC by launching an alliance program to support merchant technology providers who develop NFC solutions.
