WhatsApp launches Cryptocurrency Payment Method In The US

Meta (Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram’s parent company) announced Novi in October. Novi is Meta’s digital wallet, launched as a pilot program. WhatsApp will let people send and receive the money within a chat using cryptocurrency. Users could make payments using paxdollar and also send, receive and store money without fees.

Meta’s CEO, Mark  Zukerberg, has been talking about the metaverse for some time now, and this new digital wallet was another step towards the metaverse. And just after a couple of weeks, we are seeing Novi’s first usage as WhatsApp has launched a new pilot that lets a “limited number” of people in the US send and receive money from within a chat using Novi.

Whatsapp announced the news

Novi’s incoming head Stephane Kasriel and WhatsApp’s Will Cathcart, announced today that a “limited number” of people in the USA would be able to send and receive money “instantly, securely, and with no fees” using WhatsApp.

WhatsApp already allows users in India and Brazil to make fiat payments (payments using government-issued currencies) through its messenger app. The upcoming pilot is the first instance of Whatsapp allowing users to make payments in crypto.

Novia uses paxdollars (USDP), a stablecoin whose value is linked to the US dollar, as its currency. And as WhatsApp will use Novia for transactions, it will also be using paxdollars (USDP). When money is uploaded to the Novi wallet, it is automatically converted into digital form as USDP.

In a Tweet, Cathcart confirmed the rollout of the crypto payments feature. He said, “people use WhatsApp to coordinate sending money to loved ones, and now Novi will help them do that securely, instantly, and with no fees.”

New in the US: use your @Novi digital wallet to send and receive money right within a @WhatsApp chat. People use WA to coordinate sending money to loved ones, and now Novi will help them do that securely, instantly and with no fees. https://t.co/4wG4t8zwKh

— Will Cathcart (@wcathcart) December 8, 2021

Sending money on WhatsApp will be just like sending attachments. You can access the feature by pressing the paper clip icon on Android or the + icon on iOS and then selecting “Payment” from the menu that appears.

Novi said on their website that there will be no fees for sending, receiving, or storing money. Payments will be transferred instantly. And you can withdraw the money from your bank account.