Meta Tests Stablecoin Transfers via WhatsApp

 

The Novi digital wallet, created by the social media giant Meta (formerly Facebook), will allow its users to send and receive stablecoin via its popular messaging app, WhatsApp.

This news has been shared today by the Head of Novi Stephane Kasriel, who said in a tweet that the company is working on “a new way to try” the wallet through the latest pilot.

“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,” Kasriel wrote.

Per the website, the transfers will go through instantly, and there are no fees involved. There are also no limits “on how frequently you can send money.”

When money is added to a Novi account, it is converted to the pax dollar (USDP) stablecoin, the website says.

Novi on WhatsApp is currently available in the US in English and Spanish, it added. “We’re still very early in the Novi pilot journey, so we made the decision to test this new entry point in one country to start and will look to extend it once we’ve heard from people what they think of this new experience,” said Kasriel.

“Since we introduced the Novi pilot just six weeks ago, we’ve been able to test and learn which features and functionality are most important to people,” Kasriel said, adding that what they found is that people use WhatsApp to coordinate sending money to others, and this is where Novi comes in. 

“Payments will appear directly in people’s chat,” he said.

Finally, the Novi Head claimed that the wallet does not change the privacy of WhatsApp personal messages and calls.

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