As the battle for the control of the heart of future payment services continues, tech giants like Facebook, Apple, and Amazon are positioning themselves to gain a more competitive advantage in a market worth over $100 trillion.
Last May, Reuters reported that Facebook revealed its intentions within the crypto payment space with the official registration of Libra Networks in Geneva’s commercial register.
Apart from online money transfers, the network has the potential for developing global e-commerce capabilities that will encourage the use of its fiat-backed cryptocurrency (a ‘stablecoin’).
The potential untapped market for e-commerce by Facebook is huge. The company has over 2 billion users and owns WhatsApp, which has 600 million users. According to the New York Times in February 2019, Facebook is rebuilding its messaging infrastructure and will bring together all its fully owned apps, including Messenger and Instagram, under one platform to consolidate and widen its audience.
Facebook comes with strong tech experience and a proven ability to monetize its user base by using aggregated data to target advertising. Furthermore, the company is actively seeking the adoption of its planned ‘stablecoin’ by major industry players.
One example of a potential monetization of Whatsapp regards India. The country has 200 million WhatsApp users. Foreign remittances are around $69 billion (in 2017) annually. It is safe to expect that Libra Networks and Facebook’s ‘stablecoin’ will be at the forefront of new e-commerce initiatives in India.
The arrival of Facebook’s Libra Networks in Geneva now puts Switzerland further ahead of the Fintec competition thanks to the current Blockchain-centric incentives by the Swiss Financial Centre. For Geneva and Libra, the future looks bright for modern finance.
Sources:
Facebook Cryptocurrency Project ‘Libra Networks’ Opens Office in Switzerland, Coinpage
Libra Project: Facebook Stablecoin Aims to Conquer Online Payments Market, Reports Suggest, CoinTelegraph
Facebook Libra Networks Launched in Switzerland, Blocknomi
Facebook Registers Libra Networks in Geneva in Latest Blockchain Move, The Block Crypto
Picture:
Formation:
Formez vous aux protocoles Blockchain grâce aux formations blockchain à Genève du Swiss Blockchain Institute.
