A principal subsidiary of the Facebook Libra project, Calibra, has been rebranded and linked up to WhatsApp, the instant messaging app of the social media company.
Calibra Rebrands to Novi
The Facebook Libra payment ecosystem is getting closer to the launch of the Libra cryptocurrency, and Facebook has been making some significant changes to support the new payment system. Calibra, a cryptocurrency wallet service provider, owned by Facebook, announced a rebranding of the company on Tuesday.
According to the announcement, Calibra will now go by the name Novi. The new name was inspired by the Latin words “Novus,” meaning new and “via” meaning way. Novi Financial is now the new name of the Facebook subsidiary, and the company is tasked with developing the digital wallet of Facebook Libra. The blog post added that the first wallet product from Novi would hold Libra’s various digital currencies as soon as the cryptocurrency project goes live.
The rebranding also cut across the design of the company. The new Novi design represents the fluid movement of cryptocurrencies. However, it keeps an element of the Libra icon on the new logo.
Novi App and Digital Wallets
The company provided further insights into how their digital product would work. The digital wallet from Novi would operate as a standalone app, but it will provide interoperability with Messenger and WhatsApp, the social messaging apps of Facebook.
The Novi app is intended to make it easy for people all over the world to send funds to family and friends, and other people in their cycle. The transactions will be as easy as sending a message, and Novi will process and approve the transactions almost instantly. According to Novi’s blog post, the transactions would contain no hidden charges. However, the company did not provide any details regarding the standard transaction fees they might charge.
Novi would require all their users to verify their identities using a government-issued ID, and the app will have fraud-protection measures baked in. Also, the wallet will start operating in a few countries before it is made global. At the moment, there is no set release date for the release of the digital wallet, but the project is looking to launch the early version of the Novi app when the Libra Network goes live.
The wallet and other financial services in the future for the project would fall under and be managed by a new entity, Novi Financial, which is a Facebook subsidiary. Novi Financial will operate at Menlo Park, California, independently from the social media company.
Facebook had to make changes to the Libra project over the past few months due to the regulation pressure it is facing from various parts of the world. The company had intended to release the Libra coin pegged to a collection of numerous currencies. However, they changed their plans and will now launch multiple stablecoins pegged to individual currencies added to the Libra coin. According to Novi’s website, some of these currencies include the US dollar, the British pound, and the Euro. Libra still intends to launch a multi-currency stablecoin. However, it would be backed by the new stablecoins instead of fiat currencies.
The regulatory issues around the Libra project saw companies like MasterCard, Visa, Stripe, and a few others withdraw from the consortium. However, they have been replaced by new affiliates, including Temasek, Checkout.com, and a few others.