Isis mobile wallet changes name to end confusion with Islamic State
Mobile wallet service Isis is changing its name to distance itself from an acronym used to refer to militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS or ISIL).
"We wanted a name that brought life to our company and our values," Isis chief executive Michael Abbott said Monday in an online message about the decision to dump the name inspired by an Egyptian goddess.
"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."
The company has not yet decided on a new name, Abbott said.
US telecom companies AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon four years ago teamed together to back Isis, software that takes advantage of near-field communication chips in smartphones to allow people to consumate transactions by tapping mobile devices on sensor-enabled pads at shops.
The announcement comes in spite of the decision of the militant group to change their name from ISIS or ISIL to the ‘Islamic State’.
“Changing a brand is never easy,” Abbott said, according to Fortune magazine, before emphasizing that the company “knows this is the right decision.”
Isis also refers to an Egyptian goddess, a Bob Dylan song and a number of rock bands. Social media has generally reacted approvingly:
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