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Back in July, the mobile payment system known as Isis Mobile Wallet announced that it was going to re-brand itself in an effort to disassociate from the Islamic militant group whose abbreviated name was also ISIS when translated. Instead of moving to another acronym, Isis Wallet have decided to become Softcard. In a post on their blog, Michael Abbot, the CEO of Isis Mobile Wallet/Softcard has sought to sooth current users by stating that “your current Isis Wallet will continue to work as it always has”. He went on to say that the in the upcoming weeks, the Isis Wallet app will receive an update that will rename the app to the new Softcard brand. One of the problems with such a short notice re-branding is that the original Isis Wallet name may still be visible for a time, but as adverts and websites are updated, the new Softcard branding will become more prominent.
In case you aren’t sure exactly what Isis Mobile Wallet/Softcard are about, it’s a mobile payments company that has partnered with T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T to offer a way of paying for items via Near-Field-Communication (NFC). This method allows smart phones to communicate with compatible devices, usually at a distance of only a few centimetres or so. You’ve probably seen people use the Isis Wallet service at coffee shops and the like. Some of you have probably used Google Wallet that utilizes the devices built-in NFC capability, and although similar in task, the Isis Mobile Wallet/Softcard system requires a special SIM card that you can get from the carrier.
So, Isis Mobile Wallet is becoming Softcard, but essentially everything except the branding stays the same. And even though the Islamic militant Group ISIS have also changed their name, in this case to IS (Islamist State), it makes sense for the mobile payments company to totally remove itself from any perceived association with the group and its actions. If you are a current Isis Mobile Wallet user, does the name change to Softcard affect you in the slightest? What do you think of the new name for the service? As always, let us know in the comments or at our Google Plus page.