Visa Launches Secure E-Commerce Initiative

Visa International has announced a new global e-commerce initiative that it expects will reduce Internet transaction disputes by up to 50%. The Visa Secure E-Commerce Initiative includes a payment-authorization program designed to reduce the risk of unauthorized use of payment cards, and a global data-security program that establishes standards and best practices for merchants to ensure the security of cardholder data on their Web sites. Visa U.S.A. this summer will pilot a new three-domain secure socket layer authentication protocol as part of the initiative. The protocol provides options to authenticate payments online, protect the privacy of transmissions and ensure that data in transmissions remain unchanged. The data security program includes a series of standards and guidelines for Web transactions that both buyers and sellers should follow. It will be rolled out later this year.