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The Isis joint venture continues to gear up for a nationwide launch of its NFC-enabled Isis Mobile Wallet this year and has been in discussions with major U.S. banks along with merchants, NFC Times has learned.

As Google readies the launch of the next version of its wallet, expected to feature the addition of a physical payment card, other mobile-commerce players, including Google Wallet partner Sprint, are gearing up with their own offers.

It's been nearly a month since the launch of the large Isis Mobile Wallet trial in Austin, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah, and so far merchants are reporting limited use of Isis by consumers, interviews by NFC Times have found.

The Isis joint venture has finally released a launch date for its much-anticipated two-city NFC trial, which is scheduled to begin on Oct. 22.

One or more issuers are privately complaining about fees that the Isis joint venture is seeking to charge to host their payment applications in the Isis Wallet, NFC Times has learned.

Google has confirmed in statements to the press that Verizon Wireless is trying to block it from offering the Google Wallet on its own Galaxy Nexus smartphone, which Verizon is expected to put on sale later this month.

The head of payments at Google, Osama Bedier, cautions against NFC wallet providers closing their platforms, warning the move would backfire.

The head of new technology development for Verizon Wireless described NFC technology as a “key chain,” on which payment applications will only represent a couple of the keys.

The Isis joint venture has confirmed it is abandoning plans to launch its own payment network and will instead work with Visa Inc., MasterCard Worldwide and other established payment brands for its NFC rollouts.

While there is much anticipation that consumers will routinely pay with their mobile phones, representatives of Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide–along with their would-be challenger, the telco-led Isis joint venture–say they know most consumers will need to be convinced to use their phones to pay.