Isis, the joint mobile payment initiative from AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, has rebranded as Softcard in an effort to distance itself from the militant group by the same name.

In a July post, company CEO Michael Abbott outlined how they chose the name Isis four years ago. They certainly had no way of knowing the same acronym would be used years later to describe a militant group whose name, when translated into English, is Islamic State of Iraq and Syria - or ISIS for short.

As you can imagine, Abbott said they have no interest in sharing a name with a group whose name has become synonymous with violence. As such, they decided to rebrand.

In a new post today, Abbott noted that their search for a new name was rooted in their founding vision: to use the power of the mobile phone to help consumers find a safer and better way to shop, pay and save. They also wanted a name and a visual identity that had the power, flexibility and simplicity to define their category.

Moving forward, customers will see a new name and logo but that's all that's changing. Existing Isis Wallets will continue to work as they always have. In the next few weeks, the company plans to roll out an updated Softcard app. At that time, customers can simply install the update as they normally would to see their Isis Wallet become Softcard.