Isis, an m-payments joint venture set up by mobile telecom operators Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile USA aims to become a "competitve alternative" to Visa and MasterCard as it plans to launch a network allowing consumers to pay for goods vis their mobile phones.
Isis told news agency Reuters it intends to use Discover’s US payment network, and that Barclaycard US, the credit arm of Barclays Bank, is likely to be the first issuer to come on board.
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Isis CEO Michael Abbott told the Reuters that the new venture will be targeting Visa and MasterCard customers.
Discover is currently the fourth largest US processing network, behind Visa, MasterCard and American Express, and it expects to grow its market position with this deal.
"This is going to be a significant opportunity for us" to gain network volume, Discover payments services head Diane Offereins told Reuters in an interview. She would not provide more specifics about how much business Discover expects to gain from its participation in the venture.
Isis is intending to start its product roll-out in the next 18 months.
Visa is already testing smartphone payments with Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo & Co and plans to make them more widely available by mid-2011.
In August, EPI reported on the set-up of Isis, and the concerns expressed by some analysts over potential security issues that might make the Isis offering less attractive to merchants.
