Isis Wallet User Review

Salt Lake City is a test market for the Isis Wallet cellphone payment app being rolled out by T-Mobile and Verizon. I've been using it about 2 weeks now on my Galaxy Note 2.  I got $25 dollars free on my account for setting it up. Here is my review:

Pros:

• You have to use a PIN to open the app so there is no chance of you randomly paying for something by walking by a register. You can only log in from one SIM card. If your phone gets stolen, you can deactivate your account from the web. 
• If the transaction is under $25, you don't have to sign for it. A confirmation comes up on the pay terminal and your phone so you know what was deducted. 
• You don't have to input your debit card PIN number into the store's pay terminal. (I've had to get a new debit card twice because of PIN number fraud at a store.)
• You can add money to it from the app itself from bank accounts, debit or credit card (I transferred funds from a debit card). You can set up direct deposit from payroll. You can add a credit card to it through Chase, but I'm not doing that.
• I get discounts and freebies for using Isis at participating stores. This is probably just to get people to use it, I don't expect this to last forever.
• You also get a card that can be used anywhere that accepts prepaid debit cards, so you can use funds from your Isis account even if the store doesn't have an NFC terminal. 
• When you set it up, it is a temporary card with $10. You can use that $10 and never add money just to try it out. (You get the other $15 when you set it up as a permanent account.) 
• No fees for using it as long as you do one transaction within a 9 month period. 

Cons:

• You have to get an Isis-compatible SIM card (free) from your carrier's store to be able to use it. 
• Not any faster than using a card for larger purchases over $25 because you still have to sign for them like using a credit card (at least at Whole Foods). 
• My credit union had never seen the transaction code for a debit transfer to Isis wallet and there was a hiccup. I called the credit union and they verified the code and corrected it immediately. Still a test market, so I expect this will be ironed out before it launches nationwide. 
• Not widely usable; locally I can use it at Whole Foods, inside convenience stores, Dillard's, Macy's, movie theaters, our local transportation system and random shops. Can't use it at Target or other grocery stores, gas pumps or restaurants.
• Currently not useable with Apple products due to the NFC requirement. 
• If you don't use it at least once every 9 months, it's a $2.00 charge per month. 

Summary

Great for small purchases if you don't want to carry small change or have to reconcile lots of small card purchases on your bank ledger. Easy to load and use. Secure (so far). I'll be using it for small purchases but until we get ID on phones, I still have to carry a wallet so I might as well use a debit card/credit card for larger purchases. Could also be useful as a budgeting tool if widely acceptable; i.e. put on money for the month I budgeted for restaurants and drinks.