Isis, a mobile payment app, has been gaining attention for the wrong reasons. It just so happens that the Isis app shares its name with the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, commonly shortened to ISIS, a violent terrorist group that has been on a rampage in Iraq and threathening the whole Middle East.
The app’s CEO announced that the app would undergo rebranding to make sure it will not be associated with the terror group in any way.
“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,” Isis CEO Michael Abbott announced in a blog post. “As a company, we have made the decision to rebrand. Changing a brand is never easy, but we know this is the right decision–for our company, our partners and our customers.”
The Isis app was launched last year in iOS and Android. The wallet app has had difficulty making a dent in the very crowded mobile payments space, even before the namesake crisis, which is likely attributed to how Isis only works on certain types of devices and even on limited carriers. It relies on NFC (near field communication) to trigger the remote payments, which only works in Android devices. IPhone users would have to purchase a separate NFC-enabled iPhone case to make the Isis app work. Also, only T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon support the app.
The rebranding could benefit the company in the long run. After all, there is no such thing as a bad publicity.
Source: Mashable
