According to a source on MacRumours, WhatsApp has launched a cryptocurrency payment feature for a small number of users in the United States, thanks to Novi integration, a digital wallet owned by Facebook (now Meta)
The test initiative allows users of the encrypted messaging service to pay and receive money “instantly, securely, and wi Payments on WhatsApp is similar to sending regular attachments in a conversation. Users tap the plus (+) icon and then select Payment from the drop-down box. Users who are paid this way receive USDP, which can be withdrawn to a bank account in its equivalent value in US dollars.
There are no restrictions on the number of times the Novi system can be used to send and receive money through WhatsApp. There are also no costs for a holding balance in a Novi account or withdrawing it to a bank account, regardless of how often you use it. Furthermore, the inclusion of Novi in the chat platform has no effect on the end-to-end encryption of personal messages.
Users in the US have access to the limited pilot program as of today.
The pilot is one of Meta’s cryptocurrency initiatives, which have changed since its first announcement in 2019. At the time, the goal was to create a cryptocurrency called Libra that would be tied to a Facebook digital wallet named Calibra at the time.
However, Libra has subsequently been renamed Diem, and Calibra has been renamed Novi, and instead of utilizing Diem, Novi has embraced the Paxos stablecoin in collaboration with Coinbase, the pilot’s custodial partner.
In India and Brazil, WhatsApp already has payment systems, but they employ standard fiat currencies rather than crypto.
