FB’s Calibra to Offer Payment Processing Services in Lieu of Libra Cryptocurrency
August 18, 2020 | Cryptocurrencies, Finance | No Comments
The latest about Facebook’s cryptocurrency project known as Libra, is Calibra’s shift in the development of a conventional payment processing system.
The partnership with the non-profit Libra Association is no longer focused on developing blockchain technology to support FB’s Libra token. It can be recalled that the plan encountered serious opposition from legislators and regulators. During last year’s Congressional hearings, FB officials who were grilled by House Representatives failed to provide credible defense of its ability to protect potential consumers, who will consider using the Libra cryptocurrency.
Can FB’s Calibra Offer the Same Financial Services of WeChat Pay?
The opposition to Facebook’s cryptocurrency project is mostly due to the social media site’s involvement in several scandals affecting the security and privacy of user information. Nonetheless, the FB subsidiary still plans to launch a payment processing system called Facebook Pay.
In doing so, FB will be able to offer FB users the same e-wallet services that leading mobile social-app WeChat provides to its millions of app users. Although it is not yet clear if Calibra will have the same features as WeChat Pay and its QR Code payment protocols.
The Calibra platform’s digital payment system will accept government-backed currencies like the U.S. dollar, U.K pounds, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars and the likes. Eventually, Calibra’s payment systems will include Libra tokens as part of the currency options available to FB users
FB’s payment processing subsidiary is set to launch its platform in October, after Trump’s ban on the China-developed mobile messaging and social app WeChat, takes effect on September 20, 2020.
However, it is still not clear whether U.S. lawmakers and regulators will allow Facebook to operate its Calibra subsidiary as a financial services provider, Zuckerberg’s plans to capture former WeChat app users via a Calibra app, can still face regulatory pressures.
Facebook's Calibra, Libra Cryptocurrency, Payment Processing System, WeChat Pay