UPDATE 2020-03-05: Due to travel restrictions around COVID-19, the Web Payments Working Group does not plan to meet face-to-face as scheduled, but will conduct a remote-first alternative meeting.
Last month, W3C renewed the charter of the Web Payments Working Group through 2021. The new charter is similar to the previous one, but added explicit mention of a Recommendation-track deliverable related to the use of EMV® Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) via Payment Request API.
At the end of March we will hold our next face-to-face meeting in Dublin, hosted by Airbnb. Our agenda is still rough, but I anticipate discussion of an SRC payment method, the status of browser support for Payment Request and Payment Handler, updates from the joint task force between WPWG and the Web Authentication Working Group, some merchant experiences with the APIs, and perhaps some discussion of the current Irish and/or EU payments landscape. Given the strong customer authentication (SCA) requirements of Europe’s Payment Services Directive (PSD2), I also expect a special focus on streamlined integration of Web Authentication into payments flows.
Regarding SRC, between now and the face-to-face meeting, we are working on a succinct description of “how SRC can work with Payment Request.” This would be the culmination of discussions within the Card Payment Security Task Force about data models and user experience requirements and assumptions. It is also an important precursor to a concrete payment method specification. My goal is for the Working Group to come together around “how it will work” during the face-to-face meeting, and then to initiate work on the payment method definition shortly thereafter.
For the first time we are meeting for a total of 4 days. Included is a 2-day “code-a-thon” where participants will demonstrate how Payment Request, Payment Handler, Web Authentication, and related APIs can be used to create compelling checkout experiences for a variety of payment method and authentication flows. I anticipate we will look at SRC flows, ACH flows, and open banking flows. We also heard from Airbnb last September interest in topics such as integrating card-on-file into the Payment Request user experience (for consistency with guest checkout), and using Payment Request as part of account creation. My hope is that the code-a-thon results in proofs of concept, fodder for good practices documentation, and ideas for new features.
I look forward to seeing colleagues in person, and also visiting Dublin for the first time!