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Near Field Communication and all contactless technology

NFC Times Special Report, Part Two: 
Interest continues to run high in host-card emulation since Google announced it would support the technology in its new version of Android, but with few if any public pilots of open-loop payment and no waivers or certifications yet granted by the major payment schemes, the technology has some maturing to do.

Wells Fargo bank has announced it will make a Visa credit card available in the Isis Mobile Wallet, but only as a trial phase for now.

NFC Times Premium Content (Free): The Isis joint venture and member mobile operators officially launched their Isis Mobile Wallet today, with the new Android wallet app now available for subscribers of all three Isis telcos and NFC SIMs in thousands of carrier shops.

NFC Times Exclusive: As it prepares to launch its national rollout, the Isis joint venture seeks to simplify the user interface for consumers to conduct payments and redeem offers and rewards with the second version of its mobile wallet.

While use by consumers of the Isis Mobile Wallet is believed to have been low, in general, in the pilot cities of Austin, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah, at least two issuers appear to be sufficiently convinced of the concept to move forward with Isis on its national rollout.

The Isis joint venture has disclosed it will miss its deadline for launching its much-anticipated two-city NFC trial in the U.S., blaming small problems that it says could prevent it from “getting the customer experience right.”

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.

It could take four to six years for widespread deployment of NFC at the retail point of sale, but the technology needs to become more than just a “form-factor change” from cards, said Dan Schulman, group president, Enterprise Growth, at American Express.

The Isis joint venture announced its first set of merchants for the planned trials of its NFC mobile wallet this summer in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Austin, Texas.

American Express and Isis have announced that AmEx plans to participate in the two large NFC pilots Isis plans to launch this summer in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Austin, Texas.