Isis reminded everyone Wednesday that it is still very much a thing and rumors of its demise have been exaggerated.
CEO Michael Abbott wrote on the mobile wallet provider's blog that it is averaging over 20,000 activations per day over the last month, doubling its growth rate over the previous 30-day period.
A combination of two factors, Abbott said, contributed to this growth: Isis' ability to maximize its reach into the retail environments of its mobile carrier supporters and the fact more smartphones now come preloaded with the app.
"Because we're owned by three mobile carriers (AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless), we have unique access into their retail channels," Jaymee Johnson, Isis' head of marketing, told Mobile Payments Today. "We're talking about thousands of retail stores manned by tens of thousands of retail reps all focused on selling the wallet.
"Another advantage of the MNO involvement is the ability to be available on a large number of devices, and more importantly, the ability to be preloaded [on 14 devices] and there's more in the pipeline behind that."
Isis' incentives are helping as well, Johnson added, but the question remains if consumers will still use the wallet when rewards are not as abundant or robust.
The wallet's most significant incentive at the moment revolves around the American Express prepaid card Serve and the $1 cashback deal on every eligible purchase through June 30. Users receive the incentive only if they use the digital version of the card and not the plastic one.
"That's a very relevant and useful offer considering so much of our focus is driven by where people are using the wallet most such as quick-serve restaurants, gas stations and convenience stores," Johnson said. "Those are everyday purchases and low-ticket buys. A dollar back there is a meaningful value."
Ben Jackson, senior prepaid analyst with Mercator Advisory Group, agrees Isis' incentives do help its cause for wider adoption, especially when the app comes preloaded on a smartphone.
"If I have a new phone and I'm playing with the new features and functions and I see this offer that I'm going to get $1 back on a purchase, there is going to be a willingness to test it," he said.
Isis, however, will face challenges as it relates to the initial and ongoing use of Serve, Jackson contended.
American Express does not allow consumers to simultaneously possess active accounts for Serve and Bluebird, the company’s other major prepaid card product. Bluebird is not eligible for Isis, so a consumer who already owns a card for that account would need to close it and open a Serve account.
"That's one structural problem," Jackson said. "Are the [Serve] incentives enough to make me want to open an account?"
Another potential roadblock Isis faces with Serve at the center of its wallet is that prepaid card users are a fickle bunch and usually let accounts become dormant once balances are exhausted.
Isis could remedy those potential obstacles by opening up the platform to more cards and providing strong offers that go beyond Serve, Jackson said.
The company does have a number of offers at the moment that can be used with eligible accounts, which also include American Express, Chase and Wells Fargo credit cards. Some of those incentives include a 25-percent discount at clothing retailer Aéropostale and $10 off a $50 purchase at Toys "R" Us.
Merchant Acceptance
Isis debuted in 2012 with pilots in Austin, Texas, and Salt Lake City and experienced fits and starts before a nationwide rollout occurred in November. It still has limited merchant acceptance depending on a user's location, but large chains such as McDonald's and CVS accept it to go along with some mom-and-pop shops and even doctor's offices.
Contactless-terminal deployment will help Isis as the number of NFC-enabled smartphones has increased over the past couple of years, Johnson said.
"When we started this business, one of the common [questions] we would hear is, where are the phones with NFC?" he said. "Now, that's not an issue because nearly every Android device contains NFC. (Apple iPhone users can use a case with a contatless chip.)
“The question now is, when are merchants coming along? And that's being answered with new terminals that support contactless. You're seeing merchants accelerate those [upgrades] to take advantage of mobile."
Jackson compared Isis' current merchant acceptance plight to what Revolution Money experienced before American Express purchased it in 2009. Revolution’s credit card, which was billed as a cheaper alternative for merchants to accept compared with the major brands, could be used at 1 million merchants and had 300,000 users.
"Revolution was working to get that [merchant] acceptance and it didn't quite take off," he said. "What Isis is seeking is a delicate balance of cardholders and enough merchant acceptance at the same time."
Jackson believes Isis could be further along with its national rollout had it applied the same tactics it used during the pilots where it made deals with transit authorities and iconic merchants in those respective cities.
"I think it would be easier now [if they followed that plan]," he said.
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