Latest step in Microsoft Corp’s campaign for world domination is an agreement with Visa International to develop a standard method for electronic bank card transactions across public and private networks worldwide: the technology will be developed initially for Microsoft’s Windows and is scheduled to be available next year; it will include encryption capabilities based on technology from RSA Data Security Inc, and will work with the VisaNet payment system to check the identity of buyers and sellers and secure transactions for clearing and settlement; Microsoft and Visa will publish specifications that make the technology available to other software vendors and card systems to implement on their own or under licence from Microsoft.
