For regular readers you will know we have been questioning when will Facebook launch a digital currency, well they have now confirmed that they are indeed doing this using WhatsApp and targeting the Indian remittance market.Typically it takes days and can cost Indians who work overseas up to 15% using traditional payment agents like Transferwise banks or WesternUnion using a Cryptocurrency. Facebook will be able to offer almost instant transfers and a fraction of the cost.
Possibly, more importantly, Facebook needs to find a way to keep its users more engaged, particularly the millennials who are not as engaged as they once were, being able to send money using WhatsApp will help. However, once the Indian trial is complete, Facebook can create a rival market place to Amazon, slashing merchant fees to ZERO and monetizing the increased traffic while seeing what their 2.5 billion users are buying and selling.
