On 22 October, Isis, a mobile network founded by Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, will release its mobile wallet app. Partnerships with such major retailers as Foot Locker, 7-Eleven, McDonald’s, and Sports Authority give Isis "serious firepower.”
The network
will support American Express and Capital One credit and debit cards, and will
store payment cards, loyalty programs, and merchant offers. Though the company has yet to reveal which
smartphones will be compatible with Isis, we do know that its system functions
with near-field communication chips and short-range wireless technology.
Unfortunately
for Isis, its lengthy startup process permitted other web payment apps to
capture consumers. eBay, Paypal, Google,
Venmo, and Square are a few examples of successful mobile payment applications/
services/ technologies. However, “if
Isis’ carrier partners work with handset makers to pre-install Isis’ software
on new phones—a likely scenario—the upstart venture could quickly gain
traction.”
A few weeks
ago, I wrote of the cultural loss I associate with a coin-less and bill-less
society. Though this application isn’t
harmful or silly in any way, it shatters yet another seemingly timeless tradition. Unless you’re staggeringly wealthy, your on-hand
cash and coins likely weigh very little.
That means we’re adopting these technologies to save time…so we can get home
to Facebook?
Each day, we
approach a Jetson civilization of sleek, colorless, personality-less metal. Indeed, when I learn of applications like
Isis, I begin the wearying process of staking my house to the lawn.
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