Evan Schuman's StorefrontBacktalk

With all of the recent mobile payment activity as a backdrop, the recent freeze on any mobile security decisions from the PCI Council becomes even more frustrating for retailers. But the frustrations from the PCI delay are matched by a baffling lack of any public activity at all from ISIS, the joint mobile payment effort from AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile that was announced back in November. Note to ISIS: When BlackBerry passes you by in momentum, it’s a really bad sign.

It’s hard to find a less aggressive pace set by any mobile player than the one owned by Research In Slow Motion, but ISIS is managing it. It’s like a new Aesop’s Fable: The Turtle and The Tortoise. Meanwhile, New York drug store chain Duane Reade has been toying with Device Fidelity systems to turn phones into contactless payment devices—but the phone is just decorative. All of the processing is performed by the chip, which slides into a phone slot. It’s in a phone, but it could just as easily be on a transistor radio or, for that matter, a pair of ski gloves. It’s essentially the old sticker contactless payment shtick, just done with some mobile props.