Jamba Juice is testing Isis’ mobile wallet, but to convince consumers that the mobile wallet is worth it, the companies are going to incentivize the payments solution with free smoothies.

Later this year, the companies are going to give away up to one million free smoothies to consumers who pay with Isis. The giveaway will begin after Isis’s national launch, and it will only apply for participating United States locations.

“Isis and Jamba Juice simply want to get as many juices, smoothies and Isis mobile wallets into as many hands as possible,” said James White, CEO of Jamba Juice, Emeryville, CA.

“The campaign will bring key exposure to Jamba Juice’s evolving menu and to the many benefits of using Isis’ payment platform,” he said.

“We believe Isis offers one of the strongest mobile wallets on the market today. We’ve also had very successful pilot programs with Isis in Austin and Salt Lake City.”

NFC smoothies
In order to get the free smoothies, consumers must have an NFC-enabled smartphone.

If consumers have an NFC-enabled phone, they need an enhanced SIM from AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon Wireless. Then they can download the Isis app.

With Isis, consumers just open the app on their phone, select the credit card they want to use, and touch the back of their phone to a contactless terminal.

Jamba Juice is rolling out the contactless terminals nationwide to provide new ways for mobile-savvy consumers to checkout.

Jamba Juice also tested PayPal’s mobile wallet earlier this year at its location in Emeryville, CA (see story).

After the successful pilot, Jamba Juice also worked on developing its own branded mobile ordering and payment solution that integrate PayPal into an app (see story).

Mobile wallets
Isis has been piloting its mobile wallet in Austin, TX, and Salt Lake City for around a year, and it is planning to expand the wallet nationwide in a few weeks.

One of the more obvious issues that Isis is facing is that iPhones are not NFC-enabled. While Isis will offer an NFC-enabled case for iPhones, this may not be enough to convince consumers to use the wallet (see story).

Additionally, mobile wallets in general face challenges since swiping a credit card is not that difficult, and they need to convince consumers that it is worth it for them to use a phone instead of a physical card.

There is also the difficulty of convincing retailers and merchants to not only buy the terminals but train employees on how to use them.

McDonald’s has been testing Isis payments, but they seem to have neglected to train all of their employees as to how to use the wallet (see story).

Nonetheless, Jamba Juice believes that mobile wallets are a great way to enhance the consumer transaction.

“Reducing hassle and clutter are an essential part of the active, healthy lifestyles Jamba looks to promote,” Mr. White said. “This process starts as soon as you step through our doors. Removing obstacles in the payment process is one of the ways to make the entire Jamba Juice brand experience refreshing and inspiring.

“We live in an ultra-mobile world,” he said. “Jamba Juice looks to support the entire range of methods mobile devices play in modern commerce.”

Final Take
Rebecca Borison is editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York