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.
It is the third major issuer to participate in the Isis wallet, though the others, American Express and JPMorgan Chase, are in full commercial mode with Isis as it rolls out nationally.
The bank and Isis Thursday announced a “first phase of an agreement,” which enables Wells Fargo Visa credit cardholders to load their cards into the wallet.
They could then tap to pay on contactless point-of-sale terminals and–if the terminals support Isis’ SmartTap software–could also redeem coupons and reward points with a single tap.
“During this pilot phase with Isis, we will test and learn with customers who want to be on the leading edge of this technology,” Peter Ho, manager of digital payments for Wells Fargo’s consumer financial services group, said in a statement.
The parties did not release details on how Wells Fargo might expand with Isis following its trial period. That would involve more fees for the bank to rent space on Isis SIMs. The bank also has to pay fees to its TSM, First Data.
The Isis wallet is available on 50 Android models, said Isis, though many of these are the same handset models, but sold by different Isis telcos. Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile USA make up the Isis joint venture, which launched its nationwide rollout last month.
The service is not yet available, as promised, with the special iPhone NFC case and microSD. The Isis Mobile Wallet app for iOS, developed by the same company that developed the new Android wallet app, Mutual Mobile, is believed to be awaiting approval from Apple.
Isis and the telcos have yet to reveal any plans for large-scale consumer promotions for its national launch. Besides the challenge of building consumer awareness, Isis also faces difficulties in signing up national retail chains to adopt its mobile-commerce platform.
The agreements with American Express, Chase and now Wells Fargo are not exclusive and the issuers could participate in other mobile-payments services.
Capital One participated in the Isis’ two-city trial in Austin, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah, which began in October 2012, but dropped out of the project in September.
As NFC Times has reported, the issuer has been investigating host-card emulation, which would enable issuers to offer payment without a secure element in the device. But Capital One is believed to have pulled back from HCE and is waiting for the technology to mature.