WhatsApp has announced the introduction of a payment service based on the Novi wallet. Users will be able to send and receive USDP, a stablecoin from Paxos.
WhatsApp launches cryptocurrency payments service
As a reminder, WhatsApp is part of the Meta/Facebook group, so the Novi integration is not particularly a surprise. The news was announced by Stephane Kasriel, the new CEO of Novi who replaces David Marcus, who announced his departure a few days ago.
The Novi wallet was developed in parallel with Diem, the cryptocurrency initially carried by Facebook. But it is the wallet that seems to have taken centre stage: it was launched six weeks ago and is based on USDP: a stablecoin from Paxos backed by the dollar. It too has changed its name – it was once called PAX.
USDP payments directly from conversations
So this is the payment solution that has just been integrated into WhatsApp, for users located in the US. According to the project’s official website, users can now access the money sending feature directly from the conversation, as if they were sending an attachment.
There are no fees for sending or receiving the money, and it can be transferred to a bank account. According to the release, payments are sent instantly from one participant to another.
Stephane Kasriel confirmed that the feature would eventually be opened to other countries
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.
– Stephane Kasriel (@skasriel) December 8, 2021
Diem is fading
The shift in the payment service is now particularly visible. The cryptocurrency, which until recently was known as Libra, continues to face limitations. Regulators are showing their teeth as soon as Diem takes a step forward in its development, despite a calculated distancing from Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg.
Before leaving the project, David Marcus had stated that the company intended to offer Diem in the long term and integrate it with Novi. The choice of Paxos’ USDT had indeed been a way to rely on an existing cryptocurrency, and therefore less likely to trigger an outcry.
But the reality is that Diem is not looking good, and one wonders if Meta will finally succeed in spreading this cryptocurrency, which has been mutating ever since it was announced that it would launch in 2019.
