WhatsApp has kicked off payments with cryptocurrencies . At the beginning of December 2021, the company started a pilot test of payments using this currency through the application, which opens a new way to use cryptocurrencies.
Who has access to this pilot program?
At the moment, access to this pilot program is limited to a group of iOS and Android WhatsApp users in the United States , although the idea is that this possibility of making payments in cryptocurrencies through the application will soon expand to more countries. .
What cryptocurrency and digital wallet do you use?
As you would expect from a Facebook app, payments will be made with Novi , Meta’s digital wallet launched in mid-October, and Pax Dollars (USDP), a stable coin pegged to the US dollar, so for now , other cryptocurrencies cannot be used.
This is how Will Cathcart, CEO of WhatsApp, explains it on his Twitter account:
Cathcart adds that the project was born after detecting that ” people use WhatsApp to coordinate the sending of money to their loved ones, and now Novi will help them do it safely, instantly and without charges .”
As simple as sending a message
As the person in charge of Novi, Stephane Kasriel, assures on his Twitter account, sending cryptocurrencies through WhastApp will be as simple as sending a message.
First you have to register in Novi and then link the payment platform to the WhatsApp account. From there, you just have to do the same as we would do to send an attached document or photo. In other words: press the paper clip icon, choose the option to send money and the amount, and that’s it.
The other user would receive the payment in USDP instantly, which they can either keep in Novi’s wallet, or transfer it to their US dollar checking account.
You can make as many payments as you want and there are no commissions.
