The carrier-led mobile money JV plans to rebrand to distance itself from the violent militia by the same name.

Sarah Thomas, Director, Women in Comms

July 7, 2014

2 Min Read
Isis (the Mobile Wallet One) to Rebrand

Nothing's worse than finding out that an unsavory celebrity shares your name, or that you're eating a candy that sounds like a terrible disease, so you can imagine how the wireless operator-led joint venture Isis felt when the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant decided to go by its initials, ISIS, as well.

The awkward coincidence and the recent rise of the violent militant group, responsible for thousands of deaths across Iraq and Syria in recent months, has caused the mobile money venture to rethink its name. Isis CEO Michael Abbott wrote in a blog post Monday that it would rebrand the company, though a new name is still in the works. "However coincidental, 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. As a company, we have made the decision to rebrand."

It should be noted that Isis (the militant one) also rebranded to Islamic State as of June 29, but the association and negative press was still too much.

Rebranding isn't an easy process, especially since Isis (the mobile wallet one) claims to be have added 20,000 mobile wallets per day in May and is preloaded on 14 devices. But it has gotten off to a slow start, and it isn't exactly a household name yet. Raising awareness of what the mobile phone can do when it comes to payments, coupons, and loyalty programs will be an important part of getting the service off the ground. A better suited name might not be a bad place to start. (See Isis Adds 600K NFC Wallets in 30 Days and Isis Opens Its Mobile Wallet Nationwide.)

Anyone have suggestions for a new name for the mobile wallet company? Let's hear them in the comment section below.

— Sarah Reedy, Senior Editor, Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Sarah Thomas

Director, Women in Comms

Sarah Thomas's love affair with communications began in 2003 when she bought her first cellphone, a pink RAZR, which she duly "bedazzled" with the help of superglue and her dad.

She joined the editorial staff at Light Reading in 2010 and has been covering mobile technologies ever since. Sarah got her start covering telecom in 2007 at Telephony, later Connected Planet, may it rest in peace. Her non-telecom work experience includes a brief foray into public relations at Fleishman-Hillard (her cussin' upset the clients) and a hodge-podge of internships, including spells at Ingram's (Kansas City's business magazine), American Spa magazine (where she was Chief Hot-Tub Correspondent), and the tweens' quiz bible, QuizFest, in NYC.

As Editorial Operations Director, a role she took on in January 2015, Sarah is responsible for the day-to-day management of the non-news content elements on Light Reading.

Sarah received her Bachelor's in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She lives in Chicago with her 3DTV, her iPad and a drawer full of smartphone cords.

Away from the world of telecom journalism, Sarah likes to dabble in monster truck racing, becoming part of Team Bigfoot in 2009.

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