James Delahunty
12 Oct 2019 17:59
Facebook's digital currency Libra has suffered another blow ahead of its launch as all of the payment processors backing it have pulled their support.
I would caution against reading the fate of Libra into this update. Of course, it's not great news in the short term, but in a way it's liberating. Stay tuned for more very soon. Change of this magnitude is hard. You know you're on to something when so much pressure builds up.
The decision of several companies comes after PayPal decided to drop out of the Libra Association, the group that will develop and maintain Libra. It has now been followed by MasterCard, Visa, Stripe, Ebay and Mercado Pago. "Visa has decided not to join the Libra Association at this time," the company said in a statement.
"We will continue to evaluate and our ultimate decision will be determined by a number of factors, including the Association's ability to fully satisfy all requisite regulatory expectations."
Co-creator of Libra, David Marcus took to Twitter to respond to the news.
Regulators and politicians around the world have expressed concerns about Libra. Concerns range from monetary policy to data collection and use, which is something Facebook has a chequered record with.