WhatsApp opens testing of Novi digital wallet, provides zero-fee stablecoin remittance

Stephane Kasriel, head of Novi, the cryptocurrency and financial technology department of the social giant Meta, officially announced on his official Twitter yesterday (9) that WhatsApp, a communications company under Met, has begun to conduct test transactions through Novi Wallet. He said: There is a new way to try @Novi digital wallet. Starting today, American citizens with a quota will be able to use Novi on @WhatsApp, making sending money to family and friends as easy as sending a message.

Kasriel added: Using Novi will not affect the privacy of WhatsApp personal messages and calls, which are always end-to-end encrypted.

The head of WhatsApp, Will Cathcart, confirmed the news on Twitter. He wrote: People use WhatsApp to send money to their loved ones. Now Novi will help them do this safely, instantly and free of charge.

How to pay

According to Novi's official website, if users want to use WhatsApp to make payments, they need to create an account in Novi with a phone number and a valid government-issued ID with a photo.

On the other hand, as long as the user successfully adds the financial card and deposits the money into the personal account, the payment will be automatically converted into USDP (PaxDollar), which is a stable currency issued by the regulated financial institution Paxos Trust Company.

Novi pointed out that every remittance does not need to pay any international remittance fees, and there is no exchange rate increase; no fees are charged for withdrawals or deposits; but currently only some areas in the United States are open to add financial cards to deposit and withdraw funds.

Custody service provided by Coinbase

According to previous reports, Facebook (now renamed Meta) launched the Novi wallet pilot in mid-October this year, and Coinbase Custody will provide Novi with cryptocurrency custody services. According to Coinbase's statement, Coinbase Custody manages private keys by a proprietary and completely isolated cold storage function to ensure the safety of user funds.

Coinbase stated that Novi users participating in the pilot project can obtain USDP through their Novi account. Novi will then transfer the deposit to Coinbase Custody for custody, and Novi users can instantly send USDP to each other. Coinbase Custody is regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services and is a trustee under the New York State Banking Law.

Previously bounced back by U.S. Senators

However, shortly after the launch of the test plan, it was strongly opposed by the US Senate Banking Committee. Brian Schatz, Sherrod Brown, Richard Blumenthal, Elizabeth Warren, Tina Smith and other members of the US Senate Banking Committee jointly issued an open letter calling for the immediate suspension of the Novi pilot program.

This open letter stated: We urge you to immediately stop your Novi pilot and promise that you will not bring Diem to the market... In addition to the risks that Diem and other products pose to financial stability, you have not addressed how Diem will prevent illegal capital flows and Other criminal activities provide satisfactory explanations.

The senators specifically pointed out that Marcus (the former head of the Novi department) has stated that the company will not launch products without a proper regulatory framework, and the stable currency framework has been the subject of ongoing discussions by financial regulators.