Isis emerges, next year

After six or so months of stealth mode, the mobile payment consortium known as Isis announces that its going to do something next year. The announcement is being reported by NFCtimes but you will not find it on the Isis site, paywiththis.com.  You will find a new flash video with no url or ability to embed the video so go take a look.

So what’s the big news from the mobile payment company backed by AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Discovery?  They are going to be integrated in the mass transit system in Salt Lake City and maybe Austin TX, next year.

From NFC Times: “In its announcement, Isis said it had concluded an agreement with the Utah Transit Authority, or UTA, to accept the Isis brand from NFC phones, along with the other brands, to pay fares on buses and other transit. Isis said it would be followed by a rollout in the city, including at merchant locations throughout Salt Lake City. But while the UTA is equipped to handle payment from contactless cards and NFC phones, merchants in the city are not yet well covered by contactless terminals.”

I don’t know about you but to me, at a time when the NFC train is rolling fast and furious, this announcement seems like nothing. Salt Lake City?  Mass transit but nothing for merchants?  A flash based website with little to no content 6 months after launch? All very underwhelming.