Passport Changes Include End of Express Purchase

Passport Express Purchase, a Web-based service that makes it easier for consumers to share information such as credit card numbers with participating e-commerce sites, will be discontinued in Mar. 2003. A similar service, MSN Wallet, will take its place, but third-party sites will have to become MSN merchant partners to implement it. The move makes it more difficult for partners to participate in the service and reflects an overall shift in Microsoft’s Internet strategy.

Microsoft is also making other changes to Passport, such as requiring a valid e-mail address in order to sign up and making it easier for users to cancel their accounts.

Express Purchase Out; MSN Wallet In

Express Purchase (EP) is one of two services with the Passport name. It enables users to store their shipping address, billing address, and credit card number in a database at Microsoft, then post this information to participating e-commerce sites without having to retype it at each site. Better known is the other Passport service, Single Sign-In (SSI), which is used to authenticate users to Web sites and online services. EP uses SSI to authenticate users, but otherwise the two services have no connection. (For details about both services, see “A Closer Look at Passport” on page 12 of the Oct. 2001 Update.)