The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has now launched the Web Payments Working Group to help streamline the online “check-out” process and make payments easier and more secure on the Web.  The proposed standards aim to make web payment transactions simpler, faster and more secure, while supporting an array of payment methods.  Standardized APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) will enhance user experience while making it easier for Web developers to integrate existing and new payment flows into their applications.

Check out the charter (and supporting FAQ) for this new Web Payments Working Group, the official W3C press release (including testimonials from members such as Bloomberg, Deutsche Telekom, Digital Bazaar, ETA, Federal Reserve Bank, Ingenico Labs MAG, NACS, Qihoo360, Rabobank, Ripple and WorldPay.