WhatsApp starts testing currency payments with Meta’s Novi wallet

Published at: Dec. 9, 2021

Despite some senators in the United States opposing Meta launching its digital currency products, the development of the social media giant's digital wallet, Novi, continues apace. 

Stephane Kasriel, the head of Meta’s cryptocurrency and fintech unit Novi, officially announced on Dec. 8 that Meta’s messenger subsidiary WhatsApp has started testing transactions through Meta’s Novi wallet.

According to the exec, the new feature is available for a “limited number of people” in the United States, allowing users to send and receive money on WhatsApp “instantly and with no fees.”

There's a new way to try the @Novi digital wallet. Starting today, a limited number of people in the US will be able to send and receive money using Novi on @WhatsApp, making sending money to family and friends as easy as sending a message. pic.twitter.com/dGz3lejri7

— Stephane Kasriel (@skasriel) December 8, 2021

Kasriel noted that Meta has been able to test and learn which features and functionalities are “most important to people” since they introduced the Novi pilot in mid-October. He added that using Novi doesn’t affect the privacy of WhatsApp personal messages and calls, “which are always end-to-end encrypted.”

Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp at Meta, confirmed the news on Twitter, noting some U.S. users can now send and receive money with Novi on WhatsApp. “People use WA to coordinate sending money to loved ones, and now Novi will help them do that securely, instantly and with no fees,” he wrote.

Formerly known as Facebook, Meta officially launched a digital currency pilot in collaboration with major crypto exchange Coinbase and stablecoin firm Paxos in October. The pilot initially rolled out in the U.S. and Guatemala, using Pax Dollar (USDP), a dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by blockchain trust company Paxos.

Related: Meta's head of crypto to step down at end of year

A U.S. non-profit organization, the Open Markets Institute, subsequently sent a letter to multiple regulators including the U.S. Department of Justice, arguing that Meta may be “in the illegal business of receiving deposits without a bank charter.” The organization specifically pointed out that USDP is one of the smaller stablecoins, “with far less liquidity and usage” than the top stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC).

“There are several legal and regulatory implications for Facebook’s pilot that warrant particular attention by the agencies,” the Open Markets Institute letter stated.

Tags
Adoption
United States
Altcoin
Business
Digital Currency
Stablecoin
Payments
Facebook
Whatsapp
Related Posts
Verifone to enable crypto payments at major retailers through BitPay
Crypto payments are becoming increasingly popular as Bitcoin (BTC) and other digital assets continue to go mainstream. This has become the case for both crypto holders and non-crypto owners who are primarily interested in the concept of using cryptocurrencies for payments. Recent data has found that 93% of crypto users surveyed would consider making purchases in crypto. The report further revealed that 59% of consumers who don’t hold crypto would be interested in using it to make purchases in the future. As such, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that major payment providers like Mastercard have been ramping up their …
Adoption / Sept. 28, 2021
Libra Project: Facebook Stablecoin Aims to Conquer Online Payments Market, Reports Suggest
Facebook’s potential expansion into crypto has been widely discussed in the past few months. Although the social media giant has not confirmed anything beyond having a blockchain department, new details about its digital token project continue to surface. Most recently, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Facebook is talking to major payment networks Visa and MasterCard to raise a $1 billion for its crypto project, which reportedly entails a stablecoin along with a crypto-powered online payments system. Brief history of Facebook’s secretive crypto project Facebook has been rumored to be involved with cryptocurrencies for at least a year now. …
Adoption / May 9, 2019
Libra Might Become Unrecognizable by Navigating Regulatory Concerns
Amid the regulatory storm facing Libra, the project’s hierarchy is looking to change one important detail of the payment system: using fiat-pegged stablecoins rather than a token supported by a basket of national currencies. The Libra Association says such considerations are part of efforts to create a more agile payment platform. Meanwhile, the furor over the controversial Libra has begun to take a more political undertone, both within and outside the United States. Arguments for and against the project now seem to include issues surrounding the trade war between the U.S. and China. In Europe, China’s response to Facebook’s crypto …
United States / Oct. 28, 2019
Mark Zuckerberg’s stablecoin project Diem officially shuts down
Meta, formerly branded as Facebook, has officially announced the closure of its digital currency project Diem after years of major efforts to move forward with the initiative. Announcing the news on Monday, Diem CEO Stuart Levey confirmed that Meta is selling intellectual property and other assets related to the Diem stablecoin project to its Silvergate Capital Corporation. The Diem Association and its subsidiaries will start winding down operations “over the coming weeks,” Levey said. The association, however, is still confident that Diem’s ideals will continue to thrive even after Meta officially terminated its involvement in the project, the CEO noted: …
Adoption / Feb. 1, 2022
PayPal to start letting US customers pay in Bitcoin at global merchants
Online payments giant PayPal will start to accept cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange at its millions of global merchants, the firm’s president and CEO revealed on Tuesday ahead of a formal announcement. News broke regarding PayPal’s rumored decision to accept cryptocurrencies early on March 30. Later in the day, the firm’s CEO, Dan Schulman, confirmed to Reuters that the rumors were true and that an official statement would be released imminently. The new system is expected to feature a crypto checkout service where users can pay for goods and services at approved vendors using their stored coins. The system …
Adoption / March 30, 2021