I can't help but think that NFC and the technical implementation differences between Isis and Wallet are a total red herring as far as consumers are concerned.

I can't help but think that NFC and the technical implementation differences between Isis and Wallet are a total red herring as far as consumers are concerned. Isis have already stolen the momentum but have wasted it with inaction. Non-NFC fully-online payment systems (square, Starbucks) have meanwhile grown successfully. Google pushed hard for adoption from terminal providers and retailers while Isis have done very little to develop a real platform until very recently. The result, frankly, is that you aren't likely to need to tap your phone to conduct business, instead you'll press a button on your phone. And no consumer will care. So Verizon ultimately loses out on a massive transaction market by trying to fight Google.