VISA /MC Press release

[John Pettitt <jpp@software.net>]

10:20 PR Visa And Mastercard Combine Security Specifications For Card
Transactions On The Internet Into One Standard
Companies: X.MST X.VSA   Move Expected to Accelerate Development of
Electronic Commerce and  Bolster Consumer Confidence in the Security of
Cyberspace Transactions
  
   PURCHASE, N.Y. & SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Addressing
consumer concerns about making purchases on the Internet, MasterCard
International and Visa International joined together today to announce a
technical standard for safeguarding payment card purchases made over open
networks such as the Internet.  Prior to this effort, Visa and MasterCard
were pursuing separate specifications.  The new specification, called Secure
Electronic Transactions (SET), represents the successful convergence of
those individual efforts.  A single standard means that consumers and
merchants will be able to conduct bankcard transactions in cyberspace as
securely and easily as they do in retail stores today. 
  The associations expect to publish SET on their World Wide Web sites in
mid-February.  Following a comment period, the joint specification is
scheduled to be ready for testing in the second quarter of 1996.  Visa and
MasterCard expect that banks will be able to offer secure bankcard services
via the Internet to their cardholders in the fourth quarter 1996. 
  Participants in this effort with MasterCard and Visa are:  GTE, IBM,
Microsoft, Netscape Communications Corp., SAIC, Terisa Systems and Verisign.
Also, SET will be based on specially developed encryption technology from
RSA Data Security. 
  "This is the first step in making cyberspace an attractive venture for
banks and merchants.  A single standard limits unnecessary costs and builds
the business case for doing business on the Internet," said Edmund Jensen,
president and CEO of Visa International.  "Further, our work with MasterCard
demonstrates our unwavering commitment to address the needs of our member
financial institutions and their merchants and cardholders." 
  H. Eugene Lockhart, CEO of MasterCard, said:  "MasterCard has viewed one
standard for secure card purchases on the Internet as a critical catalyst
for electronic commerce because it bolsters consumer confidence in the
security of the electronic marketplace.  A single standard has always been
our objective because it is in the best interests of not only consumers, but
also merchants and financial institutions worldwide. We are glad to work
with Visa and all of the technology partners to craft SET.  This action
means that consumers will be able to use their bankcards to conduct
transactions in cyberspace as securely and easily as they use cards in
retail stores today." 
  The card associations will separately test SET with consumers, merchants
and financial institutions.  A joint interoperability test will be conducted
after the individual tests to ensure SET, where necessary, operates as
smoothly as the point-of-sale system used today. Upon conclusion of the
tests, an updated version of the specification will be published for
software providers. 
  MasterCard's Web address is http://www.mastercard.com.  Visa's Web address
is http://www.visa.com. 
  MasterCard International Incorporated is a global payments company that
provides consumer credit, debit and other payment products in partnership
with 22,000 member financial institutions worldwide. MasterCard's family of
brands, MasterCard, Maestro and Cirrus, represent approximately 300 million
cards in circulation, and over 13 million acceptance locations, including
243,000 MasterCard/Cirrus ATMs worldwide.  MasterCard's pioneering work in
the areas of transaction processing and delivery systems continues to
revolutionize the way consumers pay for goods and services. 
  Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, Visa is the world's largest
payment system.  It plays a pivotal role in developing and implementing new
technologies that benefit its 19,000 member financial institutions and their
cardholders, businesses, governments and the global economy.  Visa's 442
million cards are accepted by more than 12.2 million merchants worldwide.
Visa/PLUS is the largest global ATM network. 
  /CONTACT:  David Melancon of Visa International, 415-432-2427; or  Dorea
Smith of MasterCard International, 914-249-1421/  
10:00 EST

John Pettitt, jpp@software.net
VP Engineering, CyberSource Corporation, 415 473 3065
 "Technology is a way of organizing the universe so that man
  doesn't have to experience it." - Max Frisch