Having realized that your phones can be used for things other than making calls, like paying for goods on the go, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile teamed up to create a joint venture called Isis Mobile Wallet. It’s goal is to become your one and only NFC-based mobile payment system. While the service hasn’t rolled out nationally, it is being tested in two markets:  Salt Lake City and Austin. For those who live in these two cities, you can test the service to your heart’s desire this very minute as long as you have a phone with an NFC chip inside. The rest of us, we have to wait until it gets the thumbs up for a bigger rollout.

In the mean time, we thought we’d put together a little tutorial on the app since we were able to get a hold of one of Isis’ requirements, an NFC SIM card. We typically like to do our best at preparing the DL community for what’s to come. So let’s talk about it.

Last week, we put together yet another new piece that discussed Verizon’s reasoning for not allowing Google Wallet to work on their NFC-equipped devices. In a response to an FCC complaint, VZW argued that since Google Wallet requires interaction with the “secure element” of a phone, that it’s different than normal applications, including other m-commerce apps. Since it needs to access this “secure element” in order to function, Verizon isn’t OK with it and has asked Google to make sure that it doesn’t work on their phones. However, with their own mobile payment app, they appear to be 100% behind an app using that same “secure element.” 

Google Wallet originally launched in September of 2011. Here we are over a year later, and the mobile payment app is still not available to Verizon’s NFC-equipped phones. Even after refuting reports that they were blocking the app, when they actually were blocking the app, it’s still an app that is only available to select unlocked phones and a couple of others on Sprint. Why is that? 

About an hour ago, Verizon updated the support doc for the DROID RAZR HD 0.7.2 update to include a mention of Isis Mobile Wallet. As was expected, the RAZR HD and MAXX HD were to be “Isis ready” shortly after launch, and this update makes that happen. Nothing else changes in the update, as it is still 6MB.

We should point out that if you are not in Salt Lake City, UT or Austin, TX, that the Isis piece to this update means very little. Those are the only two markets that currently support Isis.

As was announced by Isis PR briefly last week, the first two test markets for their Isis Mobile Wallet application go live today, October 22. AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon all have “Isis Ready” handsets available, so if you live in either Salt Lake City, UT or Austin, TX, you will want to stop by a store to receive a new NFC SIM card. After that, you will need to download the Isis app from the Google Play store, before you take off on a shopping spree.

There are a total of 11 devices that are “Isis Ready” today, only one from Verizon – the DROID Incredible 4G LTE. Isis plans to have 20 available by the end of the year, between all carriers.

Update:  Verizon released a statement moments ago, detailing their plans for Isis. In it, they mentioned that the DROID RAZR HD and RAZR MAXX HD will have Isis support by the end of the week (only in the test markets, of course).

ISIS, a joint venture among Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile, is doing just that. On Monday, Oct. 22, customers in Salt Lake City and Austin will be able to download the ISIS Mobile Wallet from Google Play to the DROID Incredible 4G LTE by HTC, visit stores in Austin and Salt Lake City to get a new SIM card, then add their credit, debit and loyalty cards into the Wallet and begin using it at many retailers in both cities. ISIS Mobile Wallet will be available on the DROID RAZR HD by Motorola and DROID RAZR MAXX HD by Motorola this week.

Still no word on a nationwide rollout of the service. 

It’s official, Isis Mobile Wallet is going live in its first two test markets (Salt Lake City, UT and Austin, TX) on October 22. This matches up to the date that our sources gave us last week, along with a detailed list of additional launch details. What Isis would not confirm, is specific device compatibility, carrier details, or how long they plan to test in these couple of markets.

The head of marketing at Isis, Jaymee Johnson, had this to say:

Isis will be launching in Austin and Salt Lake City on Oct. 22. By year end, as many as 20 Isis Ready handsets are expected to be in market.  We look forward to sharing more details on Oct. 22

So, October 22 is the day that we’ll find out all of the dirty details. Can’t wait.

The Isis Mobile Wallet app for T-Mobile is now live on Google Play. Rumors across the web are suggesting that T-Mobile is going to launch the mobile payment service on October 22 in two test markets, the same day that our sources said Verizon plans to. The app going live early is a bit surprising though, especially since T-Mobile and Isis haven’t actually announced that the service will go live on the 22nd. 

Verizon announced a new update for the DROID Incredible 4G LTE last week, one that would include global roaming, their Remote Diagnostics tool, and support for Isis Mobile Wallet. In a semi-confusing move this morning, they tweaked the changelog for the update so that it no longer includes a mention of Isis.

We reported last week that Isis was set to kick off on October 22 in two test markets and that the Incredible 4G LTE would be the signature launch phone from Verizon for it. This move doesn’t necessarily mean that this phone isn’t going to be the lead device, but maybe that Verizon doesn’t want the entire country of Inc 4G owners asking about Isis when only Austin, TX and Salt Lake City, UT owners will be able to use the mobile payment service.

No matter what, this shouldn’t be cause for  concern. Isis will rollout nationwide before we know it, and our wallets will soon be replaced by phones. Assuming they are accepted into the program, that is.