Isis, the near field communication mobile wallet venture from Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, took another step forward with the announcement that it has selected SIM card maker and digital security specialist Gemalto as its trusted service manager (TSM) for the wallet. The deal means Gemalto will manage the secure element on Isis phones, overseeing the transfer of payment credentials from banks and payment services to the Isis wallet application on phones.
Gemalto will essentially hold the payment keys for Isis, controlling which service providers are able to tap Isis for contactless payments. It won’t participate in the actual transactions but will enable a host of applications, from payments to coupons and loyalty cards.
The deal is an important step for Isis, which is moving ahead toward a launch in the first half of 2012 in Salt Lake City and Austin before a larger nationwide roll out. The joint venture will compete with Google Wallet, which launched in September with partners Sprint, MasterCard and Citibank and First Data as its trusted service manager.
Gemalto is becoming a major player in the emerging market for TSMs. It has signed a deal to become the TSM for Deutsche Telekom and also Singapore’s nation-wide NFC system. It has also secured TSM deals with Barclaycard and Orange. Sebastian Cano, SVP Telecommucation for Gemalto, said the company has 45 NFC projects underway but the Isis deal would be the largest.
The deal is interesting because it follows word last week that Google Wallet has not been enabled to run on the Galaxy Nexus, Google’s flagship Android device which is expected to go on sale soon with Verizon. Verizon said it has not blocked the NFC application but is working on commercial talks with Google, which many have interpreted as Verizon holding back the wallet until its own Isis payment tool is available.
I asked Ryan Hughes, the CMO of Isis, about the situation and he declined to comment on the Verizon situation. But he said that the secure element must be managed by a TSM and the owner of the device, which will be the carriers in the case of Isis. Creating a completely open situation where any company or developer can access the secure element would not be safe or practical, he said.
“The secure element will not be an open asset to allow people to write content to it or it will lose the first portion of it birth name,” said Hughes. “Any suggestion that a secure element is an SDK that sits on top of an open OS is a fanciful argument.”
That suggests to me that we shouldn’t expect to see Google Wallet instantly enabled on Isis phones. It can still happen eventually and Verizon makes it sound like it’s just a matter of working things out with Google. But each Isis carrier will be able to decide what service provider gets access to their secure element, and it looks like it will not be a free-for-all. That makes sense on some level for security reasons but my hope is that ultimately, Isis members won’t find reasons to keep Google Wallet or other competing applications off their phones for too long. The NFC wallet market is just emerging and it will be good to have competition and options for consumers.
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/KKqBCA6Q
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/3Y6TmUHy
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/IzsVAEiD @amarchugg #news
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet: Isis, the near field communication mobile wallet … http://t.co/ntKc836F
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet: Isis, the near field communication mobile wallet … http://t.co/LXQPR6De
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet: Isis, the near field communication mobile wallet … http://t.co/YTV34fCJ
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet: Isis, the near field communication mobile wallet … http://t.co/p7SzsaaD
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet: Isis, the near field communication mobile wallet … http://t.co/KDWqoaZt
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet: Isis, the near field communication mobile wallet … http://t.co/haUk1yB0
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/kMn7GdVG
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/FUnYrsv4
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/jwM3vtS4
RT @gigaom: Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/kMn7GdVG
@Gemalto_NA Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/qSXmCOXp
[DocDocc] Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/rYeD29lA via gigaOM
Isis is becoming more real with this announcement! Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/d3plgbAk
RT @gigaom: Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/kMn7GdVG
#NFC : Isis sélectionne Gemalto pour gérer le portefeuille de paiements mobiles NFC http://t.co/wDLrhJtt
RT @gigaom: Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/kMn7GdVG
RT @gigaom: Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/kMn7GdVG
Carrier control? RT @BankInnovation: Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/TiPRQ22O #BankInnovation
RT @AllisonNGlass: @Gemalto_NA Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/qSXmCOXp
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/jfZTMgmm
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/mpkYdnSc (via Instapaper)
“Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet” — Tech News and Analysis – http://t.co/LhQ2dqYP
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet: Isis, the near field communication mobile wallet … http://t.co/1Lu8E3YL
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet: That suggests to me that we shouldn’t expect to s… http://t.co/ArSUZ76l
**** Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet: Isis, the near field communication mobile wa… http://t.co/7PQC1Dao
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/2ObfEXjn
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet: Isis, the near field communication mobile wallet … http://t.co/j2hxYp30
In a #mpayments development, Isis selects Gemalto to manage payments for its #NFC wallet http://t.co/zuRDVh9j
#Isis selects #Gemalto to manage #mobile_payments for #NFC wallet http://t.co/GiRLwlSV @om #mobile
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/6PnkDzhG #nfc #mobile #payments
I guess it’s happening ! RT @gigaom: Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/ozz9lKJv
RT @gigaom: Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/kMn7GdVG
RT @gigaom: Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/kMn7GdVG
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/4iRrV8vN
Having a competition and providing options to consumers is not fun because this is something new to the public. Isis and Google Wallet’s competition will only bring market confusion.
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet: 12, 2011, 5:23am PT No Comments Isis, the near fi… http://t.co/R6QmY2pu
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/3eBbtHP5
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/c7NqznCw #mcommerce #mobilepayments #ISIS #googlewallet
RT @gigaom: Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/kMn7GdVG
#Isis (joint venture of #ATT #Verizon & #TMobile) selects #Gemalto to manage #MobilePayments for #NFC wallet http://t.co/7qfqtNmn
Isis selects Gemalto to handle mobile payments for Isis http://t.co/2i1cPEwu #technology
Check out this article on #Isis by @gigaom – Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet. http://t.co/SSgaMFD1
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RT @ItsPaid: Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/9IGxmhQZ #Isis #NFC #mpayments
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet … http://t.co/csz4T8Q9
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet @oryankim http://t.co/MO8Tkirf
RT @kfitchard: Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet @oryankim http://t.co/MO8Tkirf
RT @kfitchard: Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet @oryankim http://t.co/BjmTBuUT
RT @oryankim: Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/KKqBCA6Q
RT @oryankim: Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/KKqBCA6Q
RT @FierceWireless: RT @kfitchard: Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet @oryankim http://t.co/UN6axfvr: Fier…
RT @gigaom: Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/kMn7GdVG
RT @gigaom: Isis selects Gemalto to manage #mobile #payments for NFC wallet | http://t.co/2iJoGJud
That’s a ridiculous statement. That’s like saying AmEx shouldn’t have launched their card because it caused confusion with the Diners Club Card in the nascent credit card industry back in the 1950s.
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/9ziltC9I
#Isis selects Gemalto to manage #mobilepayments. http://t.co/Dvm4AoG1
RT @FierceWireless: RT @kfitchard: Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet @oryankim http://t.co/BjmTBuUT
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet (@oryankim / GigaOM) http://t.co/nqwEue3t http://t.co/CfM3QfW9
RT @Techmeme: Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet (@oryankim / GigaOM) http://t.co/nqwEue3t http://t.co/CfM3QfW9
RT @Techmeme: Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet (@oryankim / GigaOM) http://t.co/nqwEue3t http://t.co/CfM3QfW9
RT @gigaom: Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/kMn7GdVG
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/oGza9hVF
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet (@oryankim / GigaOM) http://t.co/23135Qho (via @Techmeme)
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet
http://t.co/Xw5AhELB
more #mobileWallet plot thickness — #Isis gets a #TSM & buttons-up the SE — http://t.co/35gEbYW1 — #theTitansAreCavorting $GOOG $VZ $GTO
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/AX5MjtVP
I don’t believe open SDK means insecure and problematic. as far as I understand, without security keys nothing can be done with secure element and keeping the keys and making everything safe is the responsibility of TSM. I prefer to have chance of choice and that’s why I use Android.
#Isis selects Gemalto to manage #mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/k9UkN9Nt
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet — http://t.co/sw2Qn6Qt
#NFC News ▸ Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet – GigaOm http://t.co/1olZ8f39 #Contactless #Tech
#Isis – #Gemalto to manage #mobilepayments http://t.co/7CvtARso @bmazza621 @pjaws_ISW @lringer_ISW @m_pay @Mocapay @pymnts @mashablemobile
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/6cfNgWpI
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/LFwoPn71 #digitizecash
@jasoncamtv http://t.co/JUICRZ5e
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/jEFmAvyc
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet — http://t.co/cS2ErHkm
RT @asokan_telecom: Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet — http://t.co/cS2ErHkm
http://t.co/fXrPOwpS Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet …
Gemalto to manage mobile payments 4 NFC wallet – http://t.co/nD52byr0
Google Wallet이 이동통신사의 암초에 걸린 것 같군요…. NFC 결제의 주도권을 장악하기 위한 파워게임이 본격적으로 시작된 것 같네요…. 우리 나라라고 다르지는 않으리라 생각됩니다……. http://t.co/ye4U5tsV
NFC #Mobile News ▸ Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet – GigaOm: Sun… http://t.co/DYOAeV5e #Wallet #Payments
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet
http://t.co/jtIjjErI
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet: It won’t participate in the actual transactions b… http://t.co/hkmmcbS2
RT @iNFC: #NFC News ▸ Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet – GigaOm http://t.co/bposFdGA #Contactless #Tech
Isis selects Gemalto to manage mobile payments for NFC wallet http://t.co/YL4pG4xw
Wallet works amazing. The “Big Three” all in with Isis is just a way to stifle the competition on this. If Google Wallet were on all nfc phones Isis would be playing catch up. I have wallet on my nexus and it works flawless despite T-Mobile blocking it. Thank God for the developers in the Android community that actually care about innovation and not just nickel diming their customers. You can bet that they will be charging for Isis…. money is the driving factor, not customer service.