Decision regarding HTTP API/Core Messages Publication

Dear Web Payments Working Group,

This is a decision based on responses to the 11 August Call for Consensus:

 On publishing HTTP API and Core Messages
 https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-payments-wg/2016Aug/0064

Our decision is to request that the W3C Director advance both
specifications to First Public Working Draft. Many thanks to the
Editors for preparing the work and to the participants who provided
feedback.

In light of the feedback, the Core Messages specification should
be retitled "HTTP Core Messages.” It is also possible that the two
specifications be merged into a single specification; the Editors
can decide which they prefer.

Ripple has withdrawn its Formal Objection.

We, the Chairs, plan to send a transition request over the next few days,
and to mention our concerns.

We have also scheduled discussion time during the Working Group’s
upcoming meeting in Lisbon [1]. Specifically, we would like to discuss:

* The use cases that the proponents seek to address.  To what extent
  does existing practice inform this work?

* The relationship to existing industry APIs that may address these
  or similar use cases. How can this effort proceed so that it has a
  chance of producing a standard that organizations that already use
  this sort of API will adopt?

* Implementer participation in the Working Group. It was clear from
  people's responses that we do not currently have in the group
  very many organizations with experience processing payments
  that would be likely implementers of this API. What is the plan to bring
  those organizations into the Working Group, to help ensure that we
  have adequate industry implementation experience as anticipated by
  the W3C Process?

We hope that advancing the specifications to First Public Working
Draft will attract the participation necessary to make progress.

However, for the time being, we anticipate this work will remain a
lower priority than payment request API (and supporting
specifications) and payment apps. We look forward to continued
progress on those specifications into early 2017, at which point
we look forward to turning more of our attention to the
out-of-browser use cases.

For Co-Chairs Nick Telford-Reed and Adrian Hope-Bailie,
Ian Jacobs, W3C

[1] https://github.com/w3c/webpayments/wiki/FTF-Sep2016
--
Ian Jacobs <ij@w3.org>      http://www.w3.org/People/Jacobs
Tel:                       +1 718 260 9447