Isis mobile payments launch in Austin comes as a surprise to Austin

Isis, the new carrier-led mobile-payments platform launched on Oct 22 in Austin, Texas and in Salt Lake City, Utah, but you wouldn’t know from several merchants around town. Despite being listed on the Isis website, many local merchants had no clue they were now able to accept Isis payments, or even knew what the program was. After getting told on Oct 23 that my handset wasn’t supported under the Isis framework, and then asking a variety of merchants if I could use Isis there, I realized that this launch is softer than a goose down pillow.