MasterCard International and Visa International Inc published a revised version of their Secure Electronic Transactions specification, which details methods for secure bank card transactions on the Internet and other open networks. The revised version replaces the one issued in February (CI No 2,843), the companies said. MasterCard also said it expects to announce a series of infrastructure developments over the next few months to help seed the market, as well as commitments to extend the standards to other electronic venues. The new standards are expected to accelerate development of electronic commerce and include business requirement documents, technical specifications, and a programmers’ guide. The companies said they expect to see Internet payment systems based on the standards being offered to consumers, merchants, and financial institutions by the end of 1996. Participants in the development of standards include GTE Corp, IBM Corp, Microsoft Corp, and Netscape Communications Corp, the two said.
