Two years after wireless carriers began thwarting Google's NFC payment efforts, they've finally launched their own mobile wallet service, called Isis.
Isis is a joint effort by Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile. If you have asupported Android phone on any of these carriers, you can nowdownload the Isis app and use your phone in place of a credit card at a smattering of retailers nationwide.
The app stores credit and debit card information which is then protected with a secure element on the phone and a PIN. Instead of taking out your actual card, Isis lets you tap your phone against payment terminals at locations such as CVS, BP and Office Depot. If you lose your phone, you can lock the wallet remotely through the Isis Website.
In practice, it's similar to the original version of Google Wallet, which launched in the fall of 2011. At the time, Sprint was the only carrier to support the service. The other three carriers working on Isis did not allow Google's competing service to operate on their Android phones, and Google Wallet languished as a result.
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