.visa New gTLD Application
Click to view Chinese translation articles.
-----------------------------------
New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: Visa Worldwide Pte. Limited
Application Downloaded On: 24 Jun 2015
String: visa
Application ID: 1-1338-34737
Applicant Information
- Full legal name
Visa Worldwide Pte. Limited
- Address of the principal place of business
71 ROBINSON ROAD
Unit #09-01
068895
SG
- Phone number
+65 6437 5800
- Fax number
+1 650 554 3980
- If applicable, website or URL
http://www.visa.com
Primary Contact
6(a). Name
Shannon Michelle Hopkins
6(b). Title
Legal Specialist, Domain Names
6(c). Address
6(d). Phone Number
+16504321515
6(e). Fax Number
+16505546919
6(f). Email Address
Secondary Contact
7(a). Name
Denise Yee
7(b). Title
Associate General Counsel, Trademarks
7(c). Address
7(d). Phone Number
+1 650 432 3917
7(e). Fax Number
+1 650 432 3425
7(f). Email Address
Proof of Legal Establishment
8(a). Legal form of the Applicant
Private Limited Company
8(b). State the specific national or other jurisdiction that defines the type of entity identified in 8(a).
Singapore
8(c). Attach evidence of the applicant's establishment.
Attachments are not displayed on this form.
9(a). If applying company is publicly traded, provide the exchange and symbol.
n/a
9(b). If the applying entity is a subsidiary, provide the parent company.
9(c). If the applying entity is a joint venture, list all joint venture partners.
Applicant Background
11(a). Name(s) and position(s) of all directors
Name
Position
Andrew Kay Huat Tan Director
Christopher James Clark Director
Rajiv Ramanathan Director
Vasant M Prabhu Director
11(b). Name(s) and position(s) of all officers and partners
Name
Position
Madelyn Kwang Yeit Lam Secretary
11(c). Name(s) and position(s) of all shareholders holding at least 15% of shares
Name
Position
Visa International Service Association n/a
11(d). For an applying entity that does not have directors, officers, partners, or shareholders: Name(s) and position(s) of all individuals having legal or executive responsibility
Applied-for gTLD string
- Provide the applied-for gTLD string. If an IDN, provide the U-label.
visa
14A. If applying for an IDN, provide the A-label (beginning with "xn--").
14B. If an IDN, provide the meaning, or restatement of the string in English, that is, a description of the literal meaning of the string in the opinion of the applicant.
14C1. If an IDN, provide the language of the label (in English).
14C2. If an IDN, provide the language of the label (as referenced by ISO-639-1).
14D1. If an IDN, provide the script of the label (in English).
14D2. If an IDN, provide the script of the label (as referenced by ISO 15924).
14E. If an IDN, list all code points contained in the U-label according to Unicode form.
15A. If an IDN, upload IDN tables for the proposed registry. An IDN table must include:
the applied-for gTLD string relevant to the tables,
the script or language designator (as defined in BCP 47),
table version number,
effective date (DD Month YYYY), and
contact name, email address, and phone number.
Submission of IDN tables in a standards-based format is encouraged.
15B. Describe the process used for development of the IDN tables submitted, including consultations and sources used.
15C. List any variants to the applied-for gTLD string according to the relevant IDN tables.
- Describe the applicant's efforts to ensure that there are no known operational or rendering problems concerning the applied-for gTLD string. If such issues are known, describe steps that will be taken to mitigate these issues in software and other applications.
The .visa string and A-Label were developed in line with and checked against the eligibility, stability and policy criteria as stated in the ICANN Applicant Guidebook - version 2012-01-11. The results of those checks are as follows:
- The string has less than 63 characters;
- The string in ASCII is composed of three or more visually distinct characters;
- The ASCII label consists entirely of letters;
- The string is not a reserved name as shown in section 2.2.1.2.1 - Reserved Names of the ICANN Applicant Guidebook - version 2012-01-11; and
- .visa is not identical or similar to any of the top 10 invalid TLD’s responsible for the majority of DNS pollution, as referenced in the Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC)’s report on this topic at http:⁄⁄www.icann.org⁄en⁄committees⁄security⁄sac045.pdf. It is likely that the .visa has not already been queried with meaningful frequency at the root. Therefore, it is unlikely that .visa will inherit significant invalid query traffic.
Due to the positive results of these checks, Visa does not believe that the .visa gTLD will be subject to any operational or rendering problems.
- OPTIONAL.
Provide a representation of the label according to the International Phonetic Alphabet (http://www.langsci.ucl.ac.uk/ipa/).
18A. Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD.
THE MISSION AND PURPOSE OF THE NEW RESTRICTED .VISA gTLD IS TO BENEFIT INTERNET USERS BY INCREASING TRUST, CONVENIENCE AND UTILITY.
The .visa gTLD will be a new generation gTLD serving the interests of end users by providing an authoritative Internet space where information, services and resources of .visa will be closely controlled by Visa. The majority of the anticipated domain name registrations in the .visa gTLD will be used as a communication tool. Some domain names may have the potential to be created for marketing and product-related purposes as well as for access to secure payment gateways as the full business potential of the gTLD evolves.
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, banks and governments in more than 180 countries and territories, and enables its clients and customers to use digital currency instead of cash and checks. VISA operates the world’s largest retail electronic payments network with over 1.8 billion VISA cards (as of June 30, 2011) and with total volume of over USD 5.8 trillion over the four quarters ending in September 30, 2011. VISA’s fundamental approach to innovation focuses on enhancing its current product platform and extending the utility of its products and services to new merchant segments and geographies. VISA’s innovations enable more people in more places to enjoy the benefits of electronic payments at any time, in any location, using a multitude of devices. In this regard, consumer trust and continuous innovation are paramount considerations in all of VISA’s activities.
Since the inception of the current domain name system, businesses conducted on the internet have been constantly changing and evolving with increased complexity. The volume of commercial transactions over the internet is constantly growing and bringing benefits to businesses and consumers. However, at the same time, illegal activities over the internet, including intellectual property infringement, data breach, hacking and phishing activities have also become more sophisticated resulting in the loss of consumer confidence beyond mere monetary harm. We are hopeful that the .visa gTLD will help to facilitate greater trust and assurance from internet users looking to connect with VISA online.
VISA’s mission and purpose for the proposed .visa gTLD are consistent with ICANN’s initiatives to promote public interest. VISA is committed to contributing towards achieving initiatives in line with ICANN’s Affirmation of Commitments, which include:
- Consumer Trust: the .visa gTLD registry will be operated in a secure, centralized manner with a restrictive registration policy. Initially, registration of domain names will only be available to VISA entities, which will provide added consumer trust that .visa domain names are secure and trustworthy. As .visa domain names are subject to VISA’s proprietary registration standards, policies and procedures, we anticipate this will mitigate against the possibility of malicious conduct within the .visa domain space;
- Competition: the proposed new gTLD is anticipated to contribute to ICANN’s initiatives to promote public interest through its operations focused on promoting consumer trust. As .visa is intended to operate as a restricted registry, it anticipates providing improved services and security, as well as assuring the authenticity of the VISA brand to end users. We are hopeful that increased trust in .visa gTLD will drive existing and new top level domain (TLD) registry operators to make improvements in mechanisms to improve consumer trust of their TLDs, thus, competition among registries to improve consumer trust will result in a more favorable user experience.
- Consumer Choice: the proposed new gTLD is anticipated to enable user-driven improvements and innovations assisting VISA’s marketing efforts through its ability to create new second and third level domain names on demand. These names will provide the consumers with more choices for interacting with VISA online. As VISA has control over the registration and use of domain names under the .visa gTLD, internet users connecting with VISA online will be able to view VISA’s marketing efforts while assured of the site’s authenticity.
Given the restricted nature of the .visa gTLD, the projected number of registration is likely to be limited. It is anticipated that a limited number of domain names may be registered in the first year. However, in subsequent years, the number of domain name registrations may be likely to increase as VISA develops and implements new services and marketing campaigns, and in the event the popularity of new gTLDs increases.
As the .visa gTLD expands and evolves, VISA may consider offering registration of .visa domain names beyond VISA entities, at a later stage. In such endeavor, Visa will ensure registration of such domain names will comply with applicable provisions of the registration policy (including but not limited to eligibility), all operational, technical and policy requirements, as well as maintaining consumer trust and the stability of the internet. VISA will keep ICANN reasonably informed of any material developments relating to the .visa gTLD, including compliance with the continued operations instrument obligations as set out in Specification 8 of the Registry Agreement.
VISA intends to potentially create relevant domain names for a variety of uses including for products and services. Initially, VISA does not foresee the use of geographic names at the second level. However, if VISA wishes to utilise geographic names at a later stage, such use of geographical names will be in accordance with the registration policy and the proposed measures for protection of geographical names as outlined in response to Question 22.
VISA does not intend to utilize Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) at the second level, initially. However, as the use of the .visa gTLD evolves, it is anticipated that VISA may consider utilizing IDNs within the .visa domain space to allow internet users to engage with .visa in their native language, creating a more positive user experience.
VISA is a famous and well-known global brand with its trademarks registered in over 180 countries and territories for a broad range financial-related goods and services, including but not limited to: financial services, payment processing goods and services (Class 36), network and telecommunication services (Class 38), educational, training and consultation services (Classes 41 and 42), computer hardware and software, cards, and devices (Class 9), printed material and decals (Class 16), and incentive and loyalty programs, and advertising, promotional, sponsorship materials (Class 35). VISA proposes to use the .visa gTLD with respect to a broad range of goods and services, including the above mentioned goods and services, which is consistent with VISA’s business activities and its trademark registrations.
Furthermore, VISA has an extensive portfolio of existing domain names with an exact match to its “VISA” trademark and applied-for string in:
- 10 gTLDs including visa.com, visa.biz and visa.info; and
- 226 country-code TLD (ccTLDs) domain names in 152 different countries including visa.us, visa.de, visa.jp, visa.com.au, visa.eu, visa.co.uk
VISA has also been successful in securing multiple sunrise applications for “VISA” based on existing trademark registration.
18B. How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?
18(b)i. WHAT IS THE GOAL OF YOUR PROPOSED gTLD IN TERMS OF AREAS OF SPECIALTY, SERVICE LEVELS OR REPUTATION?
The key goals of the proposed new .visa gTLD are in line with ICANN’s Affirmation of Commitments: to promote consumer trust, competition and consumer choice. VISA also seeks to foster its online reputation and provide an authoritative internet space through which VISA will be able to communicate with its customers directly and effectively. The ability to create domain names on demand related to specific marketing, specialty service and product development supports these goals. Opportunities for strengthened security measures, service levels and more effective functionality will provide a trusted and positive user experience.
18(b)ii. WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE YOUR PROPOSED gTLD WILL ADD TO THE CURRENT SPACE, IN TERMS OF COMPETITION, DIFFERENTIATION, OR INNOVATION?
It is anticipated that the proposed .visa gTLD will make positive contributions to the wider internet community by providing:
DIFFERENTIATION (INCREASED TRUST):
The .visa gTLD will simplify how internet users interact with VISA online by providing a distinctive domain space. For example, VISA may offer a domain name space relevant to its specific customer groups and services such as personal.visa, smallbusiness.visa, corporations.visa and visasignature.visa. With intuitive and user friendly domain names, internet users will be able to directly navigate to a .visa gTLD site, saving time and resources searching for an official site. The current domain name system has shown that it is vulnerable to malicious abuses due to registration of domain names which seek to exploit consumer confusion. VISA can attempt to address some of these vulnerabilities by maintaining complete control over the domain names registered under the .visa domain space. As a restricted gTLD, domain name registrations will be restricted to only authorized users, thus eliminating potential registration abuses. Internet users will be able to rely on the authoritativeness of the domain names under the .visa domain space. Together with consumer trust in the .visa gTLD, internet users will come to differentiate .visa gTLD as a trusted and authentic site.
COMPETITION:
The differentiation of .visa gTLD as a trusted site for VISA will drive existing and new TLD registry operators to make improvements in mechanisms to improve consumer trust of their own TLDs. Therefore, the benefits of the proposed .visa gTLD will be distributed not only to its direct customers, but to the internet community at large forcing improved services and competitive pricing in the market place.
INNOVATION:
With the expansion of the internet community, the existing TLD structure sometimes presents limitations, not only in the availability of domain names for registrants, but also to businesses and organisations establishing a coherent global online brand presence to meet their evolving business needs. It is often difficult to register a relevant and desired domain name in the existing domain space due to the unavailability of a desired name. This problem is amplified for organisations such as VISA who work across many different jurisdictions and geographical markets. Even when the desired domain name is available, it may come with a high price tag associated with a purchase of such desired name from a third party. With the .visa gTLD, VISA has the flexibility to potentially create second or third level domain names on demand which are relevant to its customer base, services and products such as payWave.visa and ATMlocator.visa. The shorter, more user-friendly and intuitive domain names under the .visa gTLD will provide easier access for customers interacting with VISA through mobile phones, tablets and other devices.
18(b)iii. WHAT GOALS DOES YOUR PROPOSED gTLD HAVE IN TERMS OF USER EXPERIENCE?
CURRENT CHALLENGES:
Today, some internet users experience difficulty in locating legitimate businesses on the internet due to user confusion. This confusion primarily stems from malicious registrants registering names. Also, some businesses have difficulties securing domain name registrations for their own business name or trademark due to unavailability of names in the existing internet space.
POSITIVE USER EXPERIENCE:
The proposed new gTLD is anticipated to provide positive user experience, which meet the changing and growing needs of the global internet community. VISA will maintain control in the registration and use of domain names and will ensure that the new gTLD will only be used for purposes authorized by VISA. Therefore, the .visa gTLD is intended to potentially:
- provide an easy and intuitive reference and access point for internet users such as personal.visa and credit.visa;
- represent authenticity promoting user confidence;
- direct internet users to relevant information in a timely manner;
- provide the ability to create domain names on demand;
- enhance security and minimize security risks by implementing necessary technical and policy measures;
- strengthen brand reputation and user confidence by eliminating user confusion; and
- prevent potential abuses in the registration process, thus reducing overall costs to businesses and users.
Further, it is also intended to address some concerns with the current domain name system, which is open to potential malicious abuse and user confusion. Although, the current system allows an eligible party to lodge a claim through existing Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) or other dispute resolution processes, the proposed .visa gTLD is anticipated to minimize potential abuses in the registration processes thus reducing overall costs to internet users as a result of malicious use of domain names or abuse of domain name registration processes.
Elimination of user confusion and minimizing the potential for malicious abuse will strengthen user confidence in the domain name system, which will ultimately contribute towards promoting ICANN’s core values in benefiting the public interest.
18(b)iv. PROVIDE A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE APPLICANTʹS INTENDED REGISTRATION POLICIES IN SUPPORT OF THE GOALS LISTED ABOVE.
The proposed registration policy is attached in response to Question 28.
As a restricted gTLD, initially, registrations for domain names will be made available for VISA’s business purposes. As the use of the new .visa gTLD evolves, VISA may consider expanding the .visa gTLD’s registration process at a later date. Such process will comply with all policy, operational and technical requirements and will aim to protect consumer trust and the stability of the internet.
In addition, the domain name registration processes in the proposed new gTLD will address the requirements as mandated by ICANN, including but not limited to rights abuse prevention measures such as use of the Trademark Clearinghouse.
18(b)v. WILL YOUR PROPOSED gTLD IMPOSE ANY MEASURES FOR PROTECTING THE PRIVACY OR CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION OF REGISTRANTS OR USERS? IF SO, PLEASE DESCRIBE ANY SUCH MEASURES.
VISA is committed to protection of privacy and confidential information in accordance with its objective of increasing consumer trust and providing a safe and legitimate internet space for internet users. Privacy and confidential information will be protected in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations relating to internet security, privacy and user’s personal information. VISA maintains an information security policy based on international standards which also complies with relevant requirements and standards for the payments industry as applicable.
VISA also has implemented its own privacy policy to demonstrate its commitment to the protection of user privacy and confidential information. VISA’s privacy policy governs the collection of personal information, use and disclosure of such personal information, children’s privacy, and storage and access to personal information held by VISA. Privacy is of fundamental concern to VISA. As such VISA has a strong interest in ensuring a high level of privacy protection for its business.
As the .visa gTLD will only be available to VISA and its affiliated entities at this stage, the amount of personal data that will be collected for the purposes of operating the gTLD and made publicly available in the WHOIS database will be very limited. VISA will provide a publicly available and searchable WHOIS look up facility, where information about the domain name status, registrant information including administrative and technical contact details can be found in accordance with Specification 4 of the Registry Agreement. In order to prevent misuse of the WHOIS look up facility, VISA will utilize measures including a requirement that any person submitting a WHOIS database query is required to read and agree to the terms and conditions in accordance with the registration policy. This will include the terms of use that the WHOIS database is provided for information purposes only and that the user agrees not to use the information for any other purposes such as allowing or enabling the transmission of unsolicited commercial advertising or other communication.
Visa will deploy (through its backend registry services provider) Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) which is intended to benefit both VISA and its users interacting with VISA online. DNSSEC provides additional security by validating information in the transmission, therefore it is intended to benefit those who publish information in the domain name system (DNS) and the users who retrieve information from the new .visa gTLD. VISA already implements measures to protect privacy or confidential information of its users against misuse, loss, alteration and unauthorized access. Such measures include: use of firewalls, Secure Socket Layers on sites that collect personal information and other technologies to secure our web presence consistent with industry practice.
Visa will continue to apply all security measures currently implemented and will comply with all other policies and practices required by ICANN in the Registry Agreement and any relevant Consensus Policy for protecting the privacy and confidential information of registrants and users in the .visa domain space.
18(b)vi. DESCRIBE WHETHER AND IN WHAT WAYS OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATIONS WILL HELP TO ACHIEVE YOUR PROJECTED BENEFITS.
As a restricted gTLD, .visa may be promoted on a limited basis only. During the initial stage of the operation of the proposed new gTLD, it is anticipated that internet users will be re-directed to current websites. As the new gTLD system evolves and consumer awareness of the new gTLD expands, VISA will re-evaluate the measures and means of communication necessary to effectively promote VISA’s goals for greater utility, trust and convenience to its customers and internet users. Over time, it is foreseen that communication to the internet community of the existence of the .visa gTLD and encouragement to utilize the trusted site will also contribute towards minimizing malicious abuses and protecting internet users.
18C. What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs (e.g., time or financial resource costs, as well as various types of consumer vulnerabilities)? What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences/costs imposed upon consumers?
As a restricted gTLD, registration will only be open to VISA and its affiliated entities at this stage and no third parties will be able to register domain names under the .visa domain space. Therefore, it is not anticipated that third party trademark owners will incur costs in relation to the .visa gTLD. The affiliate entities wishing to register domain names must ensure that all the policy requirements for registration are satisfied. Visa will utilize the services of the proposed Trademark Clearinghouse to ensure that domain names registered along with the actual use of such domain names, do not infringe registered third party intellectual property rights.
Initially, we do not anticipate that an unaffiliated third party will register a domain name with a .visa gTLD. We are hopeful that wasted time and money spent by brand owners and consumers who have been targeted by malicious domain name registration abuse on the internet will reduce over time as a result of the new, trusted .visa gTLD.
18(c)i. HOW WILL MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS FOR A PARTICULAR DOMAIN NAME BE RESOLVED, FOR EXAMPLE, BY AUCTION OR ON A FIRST-COME⁄FIRST-SERVE BASIS?
Initial use of the proposed new gTLD will be restricted to VISA entities. Therefore conflicts between multiple applications are not anticipated to occur.
18(c)ii. EXPLAIN ANY COST BENEFITS FOR REGISTRANTS YOU INTEND TO IMPLEMENT (E.G., ADVANTAGEOUS PRICING, INTRODUCTORY DISCOUNTS, BULK REGISTRATION DISCOUNTS).
This gTLD will be used for VISA’s business purposes only at this stage, so pricing incentives are not applicable or relevant.
18(c)iii. NOTE THAT THE REGISTRY AGREEMENT REQUIRES THAT REGISTRARS BE OFFERED THE OPTION TO OBTAIN INITIAL DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATIONS FOR PERIODS OF ONE TO TEN YEARS AT THE DISCRETION OF THE REGISTRAR, BUT NO GREATER THAN TEN YEARS.
This gTLD will be used for VISA’s business purposes only at this stage, so pricing incentives are not applicable or relevant as no additional costs are to be charged.