Meta is once again making a move in what is already one of its major objectives: cryptocurrencies. Facebook’s parent company is already testing instant money transfers with this type of currency through WhatsApp conversations. For now, it is just a pilot test that can only be used by a group of users in the United States, but the idea is that the tool will expand to other countries.
This is Meta’s first major project with Novi, a digital payments platform that Zuckerberg’s company launched in October in the United States and Guatemala. The head of Whatsapp, Will Cathcart, tweeted: “New in the US: use your @Novi digital wallet to send and receive money right within a @WhatsApp chat. People use WA to coordinate sending money to loved ones, and now Novi will help them do that securely, instantly and with no fees.” The process of sending money is carried out on external platforms, but now there’s an alternative: using WhatsApp itself.
For his part, the head of Novi, Stephane Kasriel, has assured that the process will be as simple as sending a message and explained that it would be enough to be registered on the payment platform and link it to the account. From there, the process is the same as for sending a photo or video: open the attachments menu within a conversation, where the option to send money and the amount you want would appear.
However, the activities involving cryptocurrencies that can be carried out on WhatsApp will be rather limited, at least for the time being. In principle, it can only be used with Pax Dollars (USDP), issued by Paxos Trust Company, regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services.
Generally, stablecoins are associated with the valuation of a currency (in this case, the dollar). Thus, the operation consists of adding money to the account in Novi, which would be automatically moved to Pax Dollar. As they are linked, one USDP will always be worth one dollar. And the reverse way, to withdraw money, would be exactly the same.
The project also counts on Coinbase, the second largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, as a partner for security issues and, at some point, there will be a transition to Diem, the cryptocurrency that Meta has been trying to promote for two years. This will happen once they get the approval of the regulatory bodies.
