Mozilla Introduces Experimental Open Payment System For Firefox OS

hypnosec writes "Mozilla has developed an open payment service API to support app purchases in Firefox OS, and has released a draft version allowing app developers to process payments. Pointing out the drawbacks of the different models for payments on the web that are currently available, Mozilla has revealed that it is looking to introduce a common web API that would make payments through web devices easier and more secure while being flexible and retaining today's checkout button features that are available for merchants. Partly based on Google Wallet, Mozilla's WebPayment API will remain open to ensure that it is used by a wide range of payment service providers. As a first step towards this, Mozilla has introduced the navigator.mozPay function, allowing web apps to accept payments."

Comments

More Data

[Anonymous Coward]

Not only does every website want me to create a profile and stores all my purchase details (email, phone, address, credit card) for *my convenience*, the software I use wants to do it to. Windows 8, Ubuntu (I'm not sure. Does the software center remember your info?), many cell phones, every app-store with punchable software, pay-to-play games, and now even Firefox.

I hope they protect access to prevent your kids from buying things without permission. I hope the data can't be accessed from any website based exploit.

Re:More Data

[Anonymous Coward]

I agree, I do not trust websites and these devices enough yet to place my sensitive info on them, it's still like the old wild west out there. Don't put your credit card information on your kids devices, to keep control of this, I sideload any apps onto my kids devices.

Re:More Data

[Mike Frett]

As an Ubuntu user (Xubuntu), I can answer your question. I've never had to fill anything out to use the OS, but if you want to buy something from the Software Center, you need a Launchpad Account, not so bad really; if you're writing bug reports anyway. Afterwards when you buy your Software, you can have the site remember your info. I always choose not to, you'll need to enter it again if you buy something else. But that's all, nothing at all needed to get the free software or use the OS. =)

I understand what you're getting at though, I have about three pages of login info for websites at my Desk. It's a hassle really, especially if you have all different Passwords; as you should of course. I probably wouldn't mind a single, universal login for everything Internet related that rotates the password every so often. Which probably exists, but I'm unaware of it.

Re:More Data

[hairyfeet]

You ain't the only one AC, I have gotten to the point that if a site doesn't support paying through Amazon I don't buy from them as i'm tired of having so damned many places having too much data. I've had my card replaced something like 3 times in the past 2 years because of some dumbass at some website screwing the pooch and I'm just sick of it.

And i'm not giving the OS jack shit, Ballmer can jerk off at the thought of a 30% cut of all software all he wants I'm following my business customers and hanging onto win 7 like a drowning man hanging onto a log, hopefully by the time 2020 rolls around the board will punt Ballmer like a 30 yard field return and we can has some sanity brought back to the desktop. Until then they can all get stuffed as far as I'm concerned, i'm a customer NOT a walking ATM for them to try to squeeze more sales out of.

Web Payments not just Mozilla initiative

[msporny]

Hi, I'm the chair of the Web Payments group at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Just pointing out that the Mozilla mozPay() API is part of a greater push in the standards community to make payments a core part of the Webs architecture. This includes buying/selling digital goods, donations, crowd-funding, all the way to equity and loan-based crowd-financing for start-ups. Note that the mozPay() API is centralized, which even folks at Mozilla will tell you is not ideal. The eventual goal is to create a decentralized payment architecture that is designed for the Web from day one. We plan to put these advanced financial tools into the hands of all Web developers so that anyone with a website or blog has access to this open financial network.

You can read more about the PaySwarm standardization work here, which is mentioned at the end of the Mozilla mozPay() blog post: https://payswarm.com/

The first commercial implementation of these specifications launched three days ago: http://blog.meritora.com/launch/

If you're interested in following what's going on, join the Web Payments group at W3C: http://www.w3.org/community/webpayments/

Re:Web Payments not just Mozilla initiative

[Anonymous Coward]

HOLY CRAP! a talking chair!

Just because the wallet is near you when people sit on you. Does not make you entitled to any of the money.

Re:Web Payments not just Mozilla initiative

[WrecklessSandwich]

HOLY CRAP! a talking chair!

Quick, someone introduce Clint Eastwood to him!

Re:Web Payments not just Mozilla initiative

[msporny]

The mozPay() API is built so that Mozilla has a whitelist of organizations that are allowed to be vendors. You have to get permission from Mozilla to get on that list, and that's not very Webby. That said, Mozilla will be the first to admit that this isn't ideal and that they want to move toward a more decentralized solution. They designed it this way because decentralized payments is a really hard problem and they didn't have time to solve it and launch FirefoxOS at the same time. Luckily, we (Digital Bazaar and other folks at the W3C) have been working on decentralized payments for years and have a working solution that we're coordinating with Mozilla on trying to find a way to get it integrated with the mozPay() API.

Re:Web Payments not just Mozilla initiative

[msporny]

PaySwarm is currency agnostic and is designed to support both national currencies and alternative currencies like Bitcoin and Ven.

Re:Web Payments not just Mozilla initiative

[kipsate]

Quoting linked w3.org page:

There are a number non-interoperable solutions today; PayPal, Amazon Payments, Flattr, Google Checkout, Ven, Bitcoin, BankSimple, Square, and KickStarter are a few examples

Obl. xkcd

We need to pay for content creation

[A beautiful mind]

The current mostly advertisement supported model that's dominant on the internet is warping how we interact with each other and how we use services - reminds me of a bad mix of Orwell's 1984 and The Matrix (the part where humans are used as batteries).

I'd gladly pay for a lot of content on the internet, but currently I either don't have the option or the pricing is outrageous - scientific articles and newspaper subscription comes to mind as being way overpriced. We need microtransactions and the first step is building the infrastructure to make it possible. Things like app.net instead of surveillance supported services like facebook are the step in the right direction.

Re:We need to pay for content creation

[msporny]

PaySwarm, which is part of the Web Payments work at the W3C, supports micro-transactions. All transactions in the system are accurate up to 0.0000000001 of a fraction of the currency specified. See this for more details: http://blog.meritora.com/

Re:Javascript apps and payment

[nametaken]

Presumably your postback handlers at the server aren't going to validate a payment for [zero dollars as converted from the price point arg].

In any case, no payment schema allows the client to change the price without screwing up a signed request or failing validation at the server... this was considered somehow.

Re:Javascript apps and payment

[loufoque]

Modifying x86 or x86-64 machine code embedded in COFF or ELF is slightly more complicated than modifying Javascript source.

Full Circle.

[ma1wrbu5tr]

It seemed like it took forever for Firefox 1.0 to be released back when I was using Firefox .8 and .9. I remember people sarcastically complaining numerous times in the forums back then that the developers were trying to create an operating system and not a browser. Well, here we are a little over 10 years later talking about Firefox OS's new payment system. I wonder how much, if any, of that source code from the pre-one-point-oh release is still in Firefox today. Is there any of it in FFox OS? I know I sure never thought there would be a market for a Firefox OS back in 2003. Kudos to the mozilla team.

Re:Needs broad multistakeholder standardization

[msporny]

We are building the technology out in the open, transparently. Anyone can join the group. There are no fees, there are no prerequisites for joining. You can read the minutes from every one of the design meetings, and even listen to the audio here (we record everything): http://payswarm.com/minutes/

Here's an example of one such meeting: https://payswarm.com/minutes/2012-07-10/

Why design the financial system in this way? We need to show people that, unlike the way our current financial system is developed and run (behind closed doors), that we're taking a radically new approach to building the basis of the financial network that we hope all of humanity will use. This financial network is open and decentralized, like the Web.

If this interests you, I urge you to join and lurk (or preferably, participate): http://www.w3.org/community/webpayments/