Mobile commerce platform may finally see an official launch
The mobile commerce sector is awash with a wide variety of payment platforms that are vying for the attention of consumers. No single platform has yet establish a strong following among consumers interested in mobile commerce, but one of the most highly anticipated of these platforms is expected to be launched within the coming weeks. Isis, a mobile commerce joint venture from T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, and AT&T, is expected to officially go live within the coming weeks.
Isis among most highly anticipated platforms
Isis has been in development for the past several years and has been billed as one of the most promising mobile commerce platforms that have yet to be launched. Development of Isis has been relatively slow in order to address the issues that have plagued similar platforms that were rushed into the mobile commerce market. Some of these issues crippled the early adoption of Google’s Wallet platform, which has only recently begun attracting serious attention from consumers despite being launched in 2011. Isis intends to resolve any security or other technical problems that may exist with its mobile commerce platform before it becomes widely available to consumers.
Isis performs well in small scale tests
Isis has not been stagnating in a development stage for the past few years, of course. The mobile commerce platform has been tested on a small scale in several markets in the U.S. Those using Isis have expressed their favor for the platform over others they have used, but they have also criticized the platform’s focus on NFC technology. Because Isis is based on NFC technology, mobile devices that do not support NFC cannot make use of the platform. This makes Isis somewhat exclusive to a relatively small number of consumers with NFC-enabled devices.
NFC requirements may hinder continued adoption of mobile commerce
Google’s Wallet platform had also been based on NFC technology, which limited its use. Google recently announced plans to make the Wallet platform NFC-free, expanding its accessibility. Isis’ focus on NFC technology could hinder its adoption among consumers when the platform is officially launched in the coming weeks. Consumers have shown enthusiasm when it comes to mobile commerce, but not for services that can only be used by NFC-enabled devices.
