REDWOOD CITY, Calif., May 5, 1997 — Three of the world’s leading technology companies today announced plans to cooperate to enable merchants around the world to sell products and services through consumers’ personal computers via the Internet, quickly, easily and securely. Microsoft Corp., Hewlett-Packard Company and VeriFone, Inc. (NYSE:VFI) today announced that they plan to collaborate closely to roll out pilot and production solutions based on the secure electronic transaction (SET) protocol standard, allowing merchants to set up Internet storefronts, accept Internet payments and conduct SET transactions over the World Wide Web.
Microsoft, HP and VeriFone bring together the leading forces in each respective market, combining their technologies to accelerate Internet commerce worldwide and provide consumers, merchants and financial institutions with the most comprehensive Internet commerce solution available. Microsoft will bring its desktop presence and provide merchant commerce software solutions; HP will contribute hardware and software systems, security solutions, integration and worldwide support along with its global sales experience; and VeriFone will supply its Internet payment products and technology, relationships with financial institutions worldwide and SET expertise.
“Microsoft’s collaborative efforts with HP and VeriFone show the importance of delivering customers a complete solution for secure Internet commerce,” said Paul Maritz, group vice president, applications and platforms at Microsoft. “VeriFone’s payment technology and HP’s hardware integration, coupled with Microsoft’s leading Internet commerce software, ensure a best-of-breed solution for banks, merchants and consumers.”
This cooperation expands upon previous, independently announced agreements involving the three companies and marks the first end-to-end integrated joint initiative supporting the SET standard. Microsoft’s prevalence in the desktop and server arena will help initiate merchants and consumers to Internet commerce, while HP’s vast experience in enterprise-solutions integration will ensure tight cohesion among the various technical elements of the end-to-end solution. Both vendors have chosen VeriFone because of VeriFone’s history of leading SET development and extensive relationships with financial institutions for back-end compatibility.
“Electronic business solutions from Microsoft, VeriFone and HP will provide the
stature and credibility that will enable corporations, merchants and consumers alike to perform transactions simply and confidently,” said Glenn Osaka, general manager of HP’s enterprise systems business unit. “This relationship, with its global reach and broad set of capabilities, is perfectly positioned to become a standard-bearer of electronic commerce.”
Microsoft and VeriFone also plan to collaborate to support the development of a SET-compliant payment module for the Microsoft® Wallet, an extensible client payment platform announced today by Microsoft (see related release). This electronic wallet will reside on the consumer’s desktop, support the inherent security of the SET standard and communicate the consumer’s purchasing information to the merchant and financial institution. Microsoft and VeriFone expect the broad availability of a SET-compliant wallet will contribute to consumers’ growing confidence in electronic commerce.
“SET will now be available for large-scale distribution to merchants and consumers worldwide with VeriFone’s, Microsoft’s and HP’s adoption of the protocol,” said Hatim Tyabji, chairman, president and chief executive officer of VeriFone. “VeriFone has been committed to working with SET and has already delivered SET-ready products to market. Microsoft and HP acknowledge the importance of a standards-based secure payment solution, and our relationship with these leading vendors will finally help realize the commercial potential of the Internet.”
The SET protocol, originally created by Visa and MasterCard, is being developed by Visa, MasterCard, VeriFone and other companies as an emerging standard for Internet bank card transactions.
“It’s very exciting to see three industry leaders come together to provide integrated and interoperable SET solutions,” said Steve Herz, senior vice president, Internet commerce, Visa International. “This is certainly a giant step forward in the adoption of SET as a global standard for payment cards on the Internet. It is apparent that the dawn of a new era in electronic commerce is upon us – an era in which consumer confidence in shopping on the Internet will be bolstered by the trust, convenience and security that is inherent to Visa. This new era may not have been possible without the support and participation from industry leaders such as VeriFone, HP and Microsoft to help usher in SET as a global standard.”
“We’re excited to see key Internet and e-commerce players come together with SET-enabled solutions,” said Steve Mott, senior vice president, e-commerce and new ventures at MasterCard. “This is another strong signal to the marketplace that support for the SET solution is growing.”
About Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company is a leading global manufacturer of computing, Internet and intranet solutions; services; communications products; and measurement solutions, all of which are recognized for excellence in quality and support. HP has 112,800 employees and had revenue of $38.4 billion in its 1996 fiscal year. Information about HP and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at (http://www.hp.com/)
About VeriFone
VeriFone, Inc., founded in 1981 (http://www.verifone.com/) , is the leading global provider of secure electronic payment solutions for financial institutions, merchants and consumers. The Company, which pioneered hardware and software systems to automate credit card transactions, now offers integrated payment solutions to facilitate debit/credit and smart card payments at the merchant countertop and over the Internet and is actively developing new consumer payment systems for home. VeriFone also provides client/server enterprise payment systems and networking solutions. VeriFone’s more than 30 regional sales, development, manufacturing and distribution centers are located throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and the Pacific. VeriFone has shipped more than 5 million electronic payment systems that are used in over 100 countries. The Company’s 1996 net revenues totaled $472.5 million.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
VeriFone is either a registered trademark or trademark of VeriFone Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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