Social-Media
Facebook renames the online wallet of Calibra to Novi
Facebook is called Calibra, the digital wallet that it hopes will one day be used to access Libra Digital Currency, Novi. In a blog post, the company said that the new name was influenced by the Latin words "novus" and "via," meaning "new" and "direction" respectively. Novi Financial is the new name of the Facebook subsidiary that will be developing the digital wallet of the company.
A new name is just the latest in a series of changes Facebook has made to its digital currency plans, which have been under intense regulatory pressure since their announcement last June.
Although Facebook initially said that a single Libra coin would be attached to a collection of national currencies, it now plans to have multiple digital coins attached to individual currencies in addition to a combined Libra currency. The website of Novi says that, initially, these currencies will include the US dollar, the British pound and the euro.
Facebook's digital wallet is now having a new logo with a new name. Calibra 's original logo was controversial when it was first announced because of its similarity to Current's start-up bank. Novi 's logo decorates this old design in favor of a stylized version of its name, with the Libra logo included in its "o."
Despite these changes, Facebook says that its mission for Novi and Libra remains the same: it wants to make sending money as easy as sending a message. It plans to make both a standalone Novi app and a version that integrates with its WhatsApp and Messenger messaging services so that you can send money to your contacts. Facebook says that you will need to use a government-issued ID to sign up for the service, but promises that this transfer will happen without hidden fees and that users will have access to 24/7 chat-based support.
Facebook's digital currency plans have had a bumpy ride since it was announced. The project was announced by a host of partners from the worlds of online finance, e-commerce and technology. However, as of October last year, a quarter of the original 28 members of the Libra Association had dropped due to apparent regulatory concerns. This year, however, the Libra Association announced new members.
A new name is one thing, but the challenge of setting up a digital currency is not going anywhere. Facebook did not announce the launch date for Novi or Libra as part of today's announcement, only noting that the "early version" of Novi will be launched when the Libra network is available.
