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Paypal Begs Off from Facebook Libra Association; Two Others Plan to Follow Suit

Paypal, the leading ecommerce payment solutions provider, has announced that the company will no longer participate in Facebook’s beleaguered Libra cryptocurrency project. Previously touted as a Libra Associate, the ewallet company did not offer a specific reason for abandoning plans of becoming a Libra partner.

Paypal’s announcement merely stated that although it continues to support Facebook’s cryptocurrency project, the company is foregoing further participation in order

”to focus on advancing our existing mission and business priorities as we strive to democratise access to financial services for underserved populations.”

The pullout denotes that Libra’s pool of initial capitalization will go down by $10 million (£8 million), the amount being the value required as contribution to officially join the Libra Association. Currently, 27 other entities have been named as associates, comprising multinational and nonprofit organizations led by Facebook, which will operate through a newly formed subsidiary called Calibra.

Two Other Libra Associates are Poised to Follow Suit

There are indications that PayPal will not be the only company to disassociate from the project. In a Wall Street Journal report published last week, credit card companies,

Visa and Mastercard have also expressed having second thoughts in becoming part of Facebook’s ambitious Libra-branded cryptocurrency operations. Representatives from the two leading providers of credit card payment services, are poised to meet on October 14, 2019 to finalize the said decision.

VISA CEO Al Kelly said that since their involvement in the Libra project is not yet official, the final decision to do so is will be dependent on a number factors. The most important of which, is Facebook and Calibra’s ability to satisfy the requisite requirements demanded by the country’s legislators and regulators.

The Main Problem Besetting Facebook’s Libra Cryptocurrency Project

Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Chairperson of the House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee voiced concerns that Facebook has repeatedly demonstrated disregard for the protection and secure use of data entrusted by billions of users to the social media company.

That being the case, the House Committee Chairman said that Facebook’s plan of expanding and extending its reach into the financial activities of users, require careful scrutiny, deliberation and institution of regulatory requirements, before such an endeavor will be allowed to operate.

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