NEW YORK - Three major phone carriers are thinking about joining with credit card companies to create a mobile payment service, PC World reports. AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon had been talking about developing their own mobile wallet network called Isis.

The mobile payment service arena has been heating up this year, with Starbucks, Google, Sprint, and Apple all developing or partnering to offer this service. Even Microsoft has joined with Verifone to create Near Field Technology to the Windows Phone.

The phone carriers wanted to muscle out traditional credit card firms and instead charge customers directly via their cell phone bills. The about-fact may signal the failure of Isis to succeed in a business dominated by Visa and MasterCard.

While Discover had signed on with T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon, the smaller market share of the credit card made retailers reluctant to do with business with the group. Discover is still with Isis, but the network said it would be exploring other options.