Verizon Wireless has announced that their mobile payments provider ISIS is now available for all of their customers on a nationwide basis. With ISIS, you’ll be able to use your smartphone as a wireless payment option at over 200,000 retail locations using a simple tap of any of Verizon’s 15 supported smartphones.
Those retail locations include Jamba Juice, Toys R Us, and even some tap-to-pay Coca Cola vending machines. You probably already have a good idea of which phones are supported (those with NFC inside), but here’s a quick list in case you need one:
That’s 13 by our count, but we’ve already dropped a line to Verizon to see if we can figure out what the other two are. To entice you to use ISIS, Verizon is offering folks a $10 credit to American Express Serve customers by simply downloading the ISIS app to their compatible device from the Google Play Store. Another $10 credit can be earned after your first transaction at a Verizon Wireless location with the service.
ISIS is pin-protected, and should you happen to lose your smartphone Verizon will help you disable your ISIS account in a jiffy to save you the trouble and headache of dealing with unauthorized purchases. Alongside “participating” credit cards from America Express and Chase, ISIS will work with loyalty cards from several retailers, which should help folks cut back on all the plastic sitting in their back pockets.
Verizon says folks will need an “enhanced SIM” to use ISIS. We’re trying to figure out what, exactly, this SIM is, and if there’s a chance users might already have it in some of Verizon’s latest smartphones. Otherwise, you can order one from the Verizon Wireless website or get setup with one at a Verizon retail location.
Some might be hesitant to give ISIS a chance with Google Wallet being an attractive option, but Verizon’s hoping you won’t find much to dislike in the service they prefer to support. Be sure to download it from the Google Play Store (it’s not off to a good start with one and a half stars) and give it a shot at your earliest convenience, and watch the video above to see if Big Red can convince you that this is the new (and only) great way to pay with your smartphone.
[Update]: ISIS is also available starting today for AT&T and T-Mobile customers. Click the respective links to find them in the Google Play Store.