WhatsApp Starts Offering Crypto Payments Through Novi Digital Wallet

It is a pilot available for a "limited number of people" in the US where they will be able to receive and send money via Novi wallet on WhatsApp without any digital fees.

WhatsApp Starts Offering Crypto Payments Through Novi Digital Wallet/Getty

New Delhi: Meta (formerly Facebook) owned messaging platform WhatsApp has started to offer cryptocurrency payments through digital wallet Novi, to some users in the US. It has started as a pilot for a "limited number of people" in the US where people will be able to receive and send money via Novi wallet on WhatsApp without any digital fees. The announcement was made by Novi's incoming boss Stephane Kasriel on Twitter.

"There's a new way to try the @Novi digital wallet. Starting today, a limited number of people in the US will be able to send and receive money using Novi on @WhatsApp
, making sending money to family and friends as easy as sending a message. 💸💬," Kasriel tweeted late on Thursday.

This development comes a month after WABetaInfo, a beta tracker of WhatsApp, had revealed that digital wallet Novi, owned by Meta, will let users send and receive money with no digital fees.

"We are still very early in the Novi pilot journey, so we made the decision to test this new entry point in one country to start and will look to extend it once we have heard from people what they think of this new experience," Kasriel added.

Also, Novi co-founder David Marcus had earlier said that Meta will roll out Novi payments to all of its subsidiaries, including WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram.

The pilot was initially available in the US and Guatemala. Novi lets users send and receive money with no fees across borders by using the Pax Dollar, a digital coin.

Making a payment works much like sending any other attachment in WhatsApp, according to Novi's website.