Card-issuing banks that support online authentication, such as the Verified by Visa and MasterCard Secure Payment Application (SPA) programs for Internet purchases, can enable cardholders to seamlessly link their personal .NET Passport account with the secure, online card authentication of TransFort. Cardholders can log on, shop and authenticate online purchases using a simple and familiar Passport sign-in and interface.

The Wall St. Journal covers the story here. CNET here.

The Motley Fool laments the acquisition of PayPal -- they were just about to add it to their "Rule Breaker" portfolio!

Initally, we were disappointed that PayPal is being acquired. PayPal was one of the most promising Rule Breakers we'd considered. It is already profitable; it leads an important, emerging, and ultimately immense industry -- that of online payment transactions; and, at $20, it had a reasonable valuation. We felt we had a big winner here! We were just about to pounce when eBay swooped it up, buying the company for $1.5 billion -- an 18% premium to last Friday's price. Thanks a lot, eBay! Now, on second thought, we're happy that eBay also saw the value in PayPal, and that eBay -- our portfolio's largest holding -- paid a reasonable price.

More coverage on yesterday's announcement by eBay of its planned acquisition of PayPal. Analyst comments on the deal were generally positive for eBay. One negative (for some folks) is eBay's decision to withdraw PayPal from its use on gambling sites.