Meta's WhatsApp launches crypto payments pilot through Novi wallet in US

• Users can send and receive Pax Dollars (USDP), a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, through Whatsapp

• There will be no fees associated with transferring or holding, or withdrawing USDP through Novi wallet

Facebook, currently known as Meta Platforms Inc’s crypto wallet, Novi, will allow users to send and receive money through the social media giant’s messaging app, WhatsApp.

The pilot program has been launched for a “limited number of people in the United States,” Novi head Stephane Kasriel said in a tweet late on Wednesday.

The feature is powered by Novi, the digital wallet that Meta started as a pilot program six weeks ago. However, the social media giant has not launched its controversial yet most awaited cryptocurrency — Diem.

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To transfer money through WhatsApp, users have to make payments using Pax Dollars (USDP), a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar issued by Paxos.

Meta is currently relying on the crypto exchange Coinbase as its custody partner for USDP.

Transfering USDP works like sending any other attachment in WhatsApp, and there is no transfer limit, Novi’s website mentioned.

Novi said it would charge no fees for transferring or holding, or withdrawing USDP through Novi wallet.

Kasriel said, using Novi does not change the privacy of WhatsApp personal messages and calls.

Libra err Diem

Facebook in 2019 officially announced its plans to develop and launch a cryptocurrency called Libra, which would be pegged to a basket of low-volatility assets rather than one specific currency and offered to send money around the world with lower fees than traditional methods through its digital wallet called Calibra.

However, after receiving flak from regulators worldwide, several of the most high profile members left Libra Association.

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The social media giant afterwards renamed Libra to Diem, the digital token that has not been launched yet due to regulatory concerns.

Meta’s then head of Novi, David Marcus, during the launch of the pilot program of Novi wallet, in October, tweeted that the company is still committed to and plans to “launch Novi with Diem once it receives regulatory approval.”

Earlier in August, in a blog post, Marcus said that the payments system in the U.S. is “broken”, and Facebook can fix it with the help of its Diem payment infrastructure.

He said, “change is long overdue,” and the company wants a “fair shot” in the crypto payments space.