Isis is facing an identity crisis. The company behind the mobile wallet app has announced it will rebrand to avoid sharing its name with the brutally violent extremist group ISIS, or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Its fighters are directly responsible for thousands of gruesome deaths — many of them civilian — across Iraq and Syria in recent months.

"We have no interest in sharing a name with a group whose name has become synonymous with violence and our hearts go out to those who are suffering," said Isis CEO Michael Abbott. "Changing a brand is never easy, but we know this is the right decision – for our company, our partners and our customers." A new brand has not yet been chosen, but Abbott said the company will provide updates in the coming months. "Our focus on delivering a great product and platform to our customers hasn’t changed."

The mobile wallet app launched nationwide last year with support from big wireless carriers like AT&T and Verizon. So far, and despite its powerful allies, Isis hasn't exactly taken the mobile wallet industry by storm. The current brand crisis isn't helping matters any. ISIS has flooded the news cycle lately as the group continues to grow in strength and influence. Its upward momentum has led the US to once again dispatch military personnel to Iraq — though not in a combat role. All things considered, Isis the mobile wallet had little choice but to come up with a new name. Its brand had already been lost where a brand counts most: search.



