July 4
Filipe Espósito
– Jul. 4th 2022 4:32 pm PT
@filipeesposito
Mark Zuckerberg’s company Meta last year launched “Novi,” a new digital wallet with support for cryptocurrencies. However, it seems that the project didn’t work out so well as Meta has now announced that it will discontinue and shut down Novi in the coming months.
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As highlighted on the platform’s website (via The Verge), Novi will no longer be available as of September 1, 2022. And after July 21, 2022, users will no longer be able to add money to their Novi account. All user accounts will be deactivated with the end of the platform, which means that any remaining money on Novi must be transferred before September.
If you have money remaining in your Novi account after the pilot ends on September 1, 2022, we’ll attempt to transfer your balance to the bank account or debit card you’ve added to Novi. If you have questions about accessing your balance after the pilot has ended, you can contact us.
Novi was part of Meta’s ambitious plans to invest in cryptocurrencies. It was launched in October 2021 as a standalone app and then integrated into WhatsApp a few months later. However, Novi was never launched in countries other than the US and Guatemala.
Novi was based on “Diem,” a cryptocurrency backed by Meta. However, as noted by Bloomberg, the Facebook owner had been suffering from regulatory scrutiny, which likely led the company to abandon the project. Meta said in a statement that it will continue to invest in the “web3 space” and that Novi’s technologies will be used in new products, especially those related to the metaverse.
Unfortunately, since WhatsApp Pay is only available in Brazil and India for now, WhatsApp users in the US and Guatemala will no longer be able to quickly transfer money to others using Meta’s messaging app.
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@filipeesposito
Filipe Espósito is a Brazilian tech Journalist who started covering Apple news on iHelp BR with some exclusive scoops — including the reveal of the new Apple Watch Series 5 models in titanium and ceramic. He joined 9to5Mac to share even more tech news around the world.
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