The telco-owned joint venture behind the Isis Wallet announced a new name for the wallet, while the merchant-led MCX consortium finally released its consumer-facing brand and a timeframe for a planned rollout, as the U.S. mobile-payments landscape heats up.
Both joint ventures made announcements Wednesday, less than a week before Apple is expected to announce its bold move into mobile payments with the unveiling of its next iPhone. Apple’s m-payments platform is expected to use NFC technology and support established payments brands.
The rebranding of the Isis Wallet, which launched nationwide in the U.S. last November, was expected. The change to the new name, “Softcard” will happen over the next few weeks, according to the joint venture, JVL Ventures. The decision apparently had come at least in part from feedback from merchants and users, who expressed concern about association with the brutal extremist group, originally known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which has caused a recent surge in violence in the Middle East.