8 Facts About WhatsApp’s New Payment Feature
By: Sam Maiyaki
Tags: Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, Facebook, WhatsApp, Bitcoin

Meta’s new digital wallet is getting a lot of attention thanks to a new WhatsApp cooperation.

Meta’s new digital wallet is getting a lot of attention thanks to a new WhatsApp cooperation.

An investment frenzy has erupted after the announcement of a new pilot project between the messaging service WhatsApp and the Facebook-owned crypto wallet Meta Platforms (FB).

WhatsApp users in the United States now can send and receive money to and from relatives and friends as easily as they can send a simple message.

With this move, Meta may be taking a giant step closer to its vision of a future dominated entirely by digital content.

To begin, Novi’s top executives have spoken out about this groundbreaking project.

Novi’s VP Stephane Kasriel, for one, stressed the significance of this recent development in a tweet:

“We often hear that people use WhatsApp to coordinate sending money to loved ones, and Novi enables people to do that securely, instantly, and with no fees. Payments will appear directly in people’s chat.”

In keeping with Meta’s revised view of decentralized transactions, this is a positive development.

David Marcus, the company’s former crypto chief, disclosed in October that the company’s financial instruments will be consolidated as part of Novi.

However, this isn’t a brand-new idea for the business.

Currently, Facebook and its Messenger app, as well as Instagram, allow for conventional peer-to-peer payments.

As a reminder, Novi is Meta’s second foray into the digital wallet market. When Meta’s initial attempt at the idea, Calibra, was scrutinized by lawmakers and banking authorities, it abruptly came to a halt.

Diem (DIEM) has been replaced as the main stable currency underpinning Novi’s application by Pax Dollar as part of the rebranding process (USDP).

In light of this recent development, what are the most important lessons to be learned?

WhatsApp’s Novi Crypto Integration: 8 Things to Know

End-to-end encryption of WhatsApp messages will not be affected by the Novi interface, according to a tweet from Kasriel. Only the United States and Guatemala are participating in the pilot program at this time. Only a limited number of WhatsApp users can access the payment features, according to reports. However, it isn’t apparent how access is provided or who gets it. To many investors’ surprise, Meta decided to debut USDP instead of Diem in October. Novi’s website, on the other hand, states that the company does have plans to switch over to Diem in the future. A partnership between blockchain startup Paxos and the well-known cryptocurrency trading site Coinbase (COIN) is responsible for the current stable coin. USDP is more stable than independent digital assets since it follows the value of the US dollar.

Novi was initially released as a smartphone app in October by Meta. Only the United States and Guatemala are now selling it.

In a nutshell

To transfer or receive money overseas, Novi does not charge any fees or markups.

There are no costs associated with transferring money from your Novi account to a bank account in your home country or receiving cash from your Novi account.

When you use Novi, you can be certain that what you transmit will be received.