Unlike previous failed efforts to allow consumers to pay by tapping their mobile phones at points of sale instead of swiping credit cards, the new push to expand mobile payments is focused on transforming shopping, said Ryan Hughes, chief marketing officer of Isis, consultant Toni Merschen, and representatives from the digital security firm Gemalto.

Previous efforts to take mobile payments to the mainstream failed because shoppers saw little benefit in trading a payment card for a phone, and because merchants have been loathe to invest in new devices to accept payments. By contrast, the new model put forth by Isis would allow consumers to consolidate credit cards and customer loyalty cards in a wallet app that they can use to unlock deals when they enter a store.

"The card form is limited, Merschen said. "There's no such limit with mobile," which offers "a software mechanism to put all these things in."

With three of four U.S. consumers already using mobile phones to help guide in-store purchasing decisions, Isis emphasizes its mobile payment system's effect on the overall shopping experience. Isis is a joint venture of AT&T Mobility, T Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless with its payment system set to launch this summer in the U.S. test markets of Austin, Texas, and Salt Lake City.

"We're not shifting the way that you pay. We're bringing you an opportunity to transform the way you shop," Hughes said.