Isis payment app changes name to avoid confusion with militant group

The Isis mobile wallet app is ditching its name to avoid confusion with the Islamic militant group that released videos showing the executions of two American journalists.

The app, which allows users to tap their smartphones to pay for goods, will rebrand itself as Softcard, Isis Chief Executive Michael Abbott said Wednesday.

“We have no desire to share a name with this group, and our hearts go out to those affected by this violence,” Abbott wrote in a blog post.

The militant organization, which calls itself Islamic State and was formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, has captured large swaths of Syria and northern and western Iraq in its bid to create an Islamic caliphate in the heart of the Middle East.

In July, Isis — a joint venture of AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon — announced it intended to rebrand itself to avoid association with the militant group.

Since then, the Islamic State has released videos showing the beheadings of reporters Steven Sotloff and James Foley.

Abbott said an updated Softcard app will launch “in the next few weeks.” The company will also be named Softcard, a spokesperson said.

The Isis name was originally chosen because it is “rooted in mythology, representing magic and simplicity,” a spokesperson for the company said. Isis, an ancient Egyptian goddess, was viewed as a protector of the dead and goddess of children.

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