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Carrier-backed SoftCard (formerly ISIS) is working with Apple despite being competitors

Promotional graphic from Softcard (formerly ISIS).

Image Credit: Softcard

Today mobile payments company Softcard (formerly known as ISIS) announced that it is “actively working with Apple to enable Softcard on the [Apple Phone] in 2015.”

The news may catch you by surprise: Apple just announced “Apple Pay” today, a mobile payments service that competes directly with services like Softcard and Google Wallet. Yet it appears that Softcard, backed by AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless, may also arrive on the iPhone.

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It’s unclear how a compromise was reached, but we’re betting heated negotiations took place. Apple’s iPhone lends it incredible negotiating power, and the Softcard carrier-trifecta has notoriously fought against competing services like Google’s Wallet.

According to an announcement from Softcard chief Michael Abbott, the iPhone will apparently support Softcard “using an integrated secure SIM-based hardware solution.

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“We think that today’s announcement by Apple to support NFC is very significant and sets the stage for rapid scale adoption of mobile commerce,” reads Abbott’s post. VentureBeat has reached out to Apple for comment on the matter.

For more on Apple’s new Apple Pay mobile payments service, head here.

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