- Meta’s financial unit Novi is testing the sending and receiving of digital currency through WhatsApp on limited users in the US.
- WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption attracts users to the messaging platform; the new feature does not interfere with users’ privacy.
- After hitting a roadblock in Diem’s launch, Novi turned its focus to powering cryptocurrency transactions on the messaging platform.
Meta’s Novi has revealed a pilot program where a select group has been testing the features and services of WhatsApp payment. The rollout of crypto payments on a messaging platform is a breakthrough, as millions of users avail WhatsApp’s encrypted messaging service.
Meta brings crypto payments to WhatsApp
Meta (formerly Facebook) hit a new milestone, rolling out cryptocurrency payments to messaging giant WhatsApp users.
Stephane Kasriel, Novi Chief, took to Twitter to announce the news. Kasriel revealed that a limited number of users in the US could send and receive cryptocurrencies on WhatsApp.
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
Despite roadblocks in the launch of Meta’s digital currency (Diem), the giant had a breakthrough with the rollout of crypto payments on WhatsApp.
The new features would not interfere with the messaging platform’s privacy features. Kasriel believes that the messaging app will always remain “end-to-end encrypted.”
Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp, said,
People use WA to coordinate sending money to loved ones, and now Novi will help them do that securely, instantly and with no fees.
Open Markets Institute, a team of researchers, lawyers, economists, journalists, and advocates from Washington DC, expressed concerns about Meta’s project.
There are several legal and regulatory implications for Facebook’s pilot that warrant particular attention by the agencies.
Meta’s setbacks in Diem have not negatively affected the giant’s crypto payment interface rollout on WhatsApp.
Gabor Gurbacs, the founder of the Points Ville App, expects Meta to streamline metaverse payments experiences.
3) Payments, Bitcoin and digital assets will likely become a significant part of communities in the metaverse. Experiences will be streamlined, simplified and more accessible. Worthwhile thread from @davidmarcus on Novi integrations with Meta. https://t.co/ewZps8fwDx
— Gabor Gurbacs (@gaborgurbacs) October 28, 2021
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