dslreports logo
Carriers Admit Their Mobile Payment Effort Was a Failure

According to a SoftCard blog post, AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile have agreed to sell "Softcard technology and capabilities" to Google in order to forge "the next generation of mobile payments." That's a polite way of saying the carriers' attempt to create a mobile payment platform of their own was a failure, and they're selling the scraps of the effort to Google.

Click for full size
The blog post beats around the bush, but it sounds as if SoftCard as a brand will eventually just cease to exist:
quote:
For now, Softcard customers can continue to tap and pay with the app. We will share more information with customers and partners in the coming weeks.

Softcard was founded in 2010 by AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless and pioneered NFC-based mobile payments and commerce in the U.S. by offering merchants more options and consumers a safer, simpler way to shop, pay and save using mobile phones. Today’s announcement is a positive step forward for the mobile payments industry and wireless consumers.


The irony of this deal is likely not lost on you if you watched as AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile tried to block Google Wallet on their devices to try and give SoftCard a leg up in the marketplace. SoftCard's problems were extensive however, from low to nonexistent brand awareness or adoption to ultimately having to change the name to avoid conflation with violent religious extremists. Reviews of the mobile payment app for both Android and iOS were routinely poor.

According to a Google announcement, the company will be paying carriers to prominently feature the Google Wallet app (a revised version of which is expected in May) on all of their handsets.

Most recommended from 56 comments



Mr_Anon_Name
@cox.net

2 recommendations

Mr_Anon_Name

Anon

Karma

They made an anticompetitive move and payed for it. Now Google Wallet will be as it should.