What you need to know
- WhatsApp is testing cryptocurrency payments on its platform.
- Some users can now send and receive money through Novi, a cryptocurrency digital wallet.
WhatsApp is testing cryptocurrency payments on its platform with a new Novi pilot.
Novi head Stephane Kasriel announced:
There's a new way to try the Novi digital wallet. 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. 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, and focus our efforts on making those even better.
Kasriel continued stating Novi enables sending and receiving the money to loved ones securely, instantly, and with no fee. The payments appear in chats as messages.
He further noted that the company was still "very early in the Novi pilot journey", so is testing the system just in the U.S.
To send money on WhatsApp using Novi, simply select the paper clip app on Android or the '+' button on iOS and select 'Payment' from the menu, before following the on-screen instructions in order to log into your account.
Money added to a Novi account is converted to Pax Dollar (USDP, which it describes as a regulated and stable digital currency.
Novi was formerly known as Calibra, a digital wallet created by Facebook.
