Isis' decision to rebrand its mobile wallet to disassociate itself from any kind of perceived link with the extremist militant terrorist group that uses the acronym ISIS is a case of terrible timing and unfortunate circumstances.
But the silver lining in this situation has become clear: this gives Isis an opportunity to reboot a product that has struggled to gain significant consumer adoption since it first debuted in 2012 with pilots in Austin, Texas and Salt Lake City.
"They've gone through so many iterations of trying to figure out the right business plan and how they were going to make it work," James Wester, research director of global payments for IDC Financial Insights, told Mobile Payments Today in an interview. "It hasn’t been all easy and it hasn’t all been successful.
"[Isis is] going to take this as an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start all over again. It's probably not a bad idea [to make the change], but it's unfortunate because it has to be because a bloodthirsty terrorist organization decided to use the same acronym."
Isis had been closely monitoring the actions of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which is referred to as either ISIS or ISIL, since the group started its mission in late May to overthrow the established government in Iraq. The company even asked its users in a recent customer service survey if they were aware of the terrorist organization and if users would be less likely to use the mobile wallet if it shared the same name with the group.
Perhaps Isis found enough pushback in the survey to officially make the change late Monday afternoon in a blog post on the company's website.
"We have no interest in sharing a name with a group whose name has become synonymous with violence and our hearts go out to those who are suffering," CEO Michael Abbott wrote. "Changing a brand is never easy, but we know this is the right decision – for our company, our partners and our customers."
The change comes at a time when Isis is facing some identity problems in consumers' minds about what exactly it can do for them at the point of sale.
In May, Isis announced it averaged some 20,000 activations per day over the previous month, doubling its growth rate over the previous 30-day period. But what the company did not reveal was any transaction information associated with those activations. It is not known exactly how users are using the wallet.
In a sign Isis was facing some barriers to continued use with its customers, it extended until Dec. 31 a $1 cashback deal on every eligible purchase using the American Express prepaid card Serve. The card acts as a de facto payment option for Isis since the mobile wallet is limited to a couple of bank issuers in Chase and Wells Fargo, as well as Amex credit cards.
Isis at the moment arguably is in a critical stage as it begins the transformation to a new brand. How it handles the transition with its current users is a delicate situation because Isis is not exactly a household name.
"They are changing a brand that isn't yet established," Thad Peterson, a senior analyst with Boston-based Aite Group, told Mobile Payments Today. "That by itself is a really big deal and they're going to have to invest a great deal of energy into determining and establishing whatever the new brand is, and then secondarily, look at how it is repositioned in response to the change."
Isis does not have an exact timetable for the transition.
Abbott noted in the blog post that the joint venture between AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless remains committed to the current product and will work to advance Isis awareness even as it evolves into a new brand.
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