Facebook announced the start of a small pilot of its Novi payments services, starting in the US and Guatemala. The digital wallet allows users to send and receive money instantly, securely, and with no fees, the head of Facebook Financial, David Marcus announced.
According to Marcus, the pilot will focus on testing core functions and the company's operational capabilities in customer care and compliance. It also seeks to show how a stablecoin can be used differently for payments, focusing on the remittances corridor between the US and Guatemala.
The Novi pilot uses USDP (Pax Dollar) through partnerships with Paxos and Coinbase. Marcus said USDP "is a well-designed stablecoin that’s been operating successfully for over three years and has important regulatory and consumer protection attributes". He noted that Facebook still plans to develop its own currency Diem, which will be available with Novi once the company has regulatory clearance.
