Facebook Launches ‘Facebook Pay’ As Libra’s Legal Saga Continues
- The social media giant is launching a new payment service that will eventually be integrated across all of its platforms.

Facebook has announced the introduction of “Facebook Pay,” a Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonly the basis of exchange involves fiat currency or legal tender, be it in the form of cash, credit or bank transfers, debit, or checks. While typically associated with cash transfers, payments can also be made in anything of perceived value, be it stock or bartering – though this is far more limited today than it has been in the past.The Largest Players in the Payments IndustryFor most individuals, the payments industry is dominated currently by card companies such as Visa or Mastercard, which facilitate the use of credit or debit expenditures. More recently, this industry has seen the rise of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments services, which have gained tremendous traction in Europe, the United States, and Asia, among other continents.One of the biggest parameters for payments is timing, which looms as a crucial element for execution. By this metric, consumer demand incentivizes technology that prioritizes the fastest payment execution.This can help explain the preference for debit and credit payments overtaking check or money orders, which in previous decades were much more commonly utilized. A multi-billion-dollar industry, the payments space has seen some of the most innovation and advances in recent years as companies look to push contactless technology with faster execution times. One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonly the basis of exchange involves fiat currency or legal tender, be it in the form of cash, credit or bank transfers, debit, or checks. While typically associated with cash transfers, payments can also be made in anything of perceived value, be it stock or bartering – though this is far more limited today than it has been in the past.The Largest Players in the Payments IndustryFor most individuals, the payments industry is dominated currently by card companies such as Visa or Mastercard, which facilitate the use of credit or debit expenditures. More recently, this industry has seen the rise of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments services, which have gained tremendous traction in Europe, the United States, and Asia, among other continents.One of the biggest parameters for payments is timing, which looms as a crucial element for execution. By this metric, consumer demand incentivizes technology that prioritizes the fastest payment execution.This can help explain the preference for debit and credit payments overtaking check or money orders, which in previous decades were much more commonly utilized. A multi-billion-dollar industry, the payments space has seen some of the most innovation and advances in recent years as companies look to push contactless technology with faster execution times. Read this Term service that will eventually be operable across Facebook proper as well as Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The launch of the product, which is slated to operate similarly to Venmo or Paypal, was announced in a company blog post on Tuesday, November 12.
The company says that the service will allow its users to make payments to merchants and send money to other users using PIN numbers or biometric identification measures available on their phones.
Simplifying Payments with Facebook Pay https://t.co/KjOXPqoFOz
— Facebook Newsroom (@fbnewsroom) November 12, 2019
“People already use payments across our apps,” the announcement of the platform says
The announcement of the payment service comes in the midst of the social media giant’s ongoing efforts to launch Libra Libra Libra is a yet-to-be-released cryptocurrency proposed by Facebook, Inc., that will aim to serve as a global payment system and a stable financial infrastructure that people across the world can use. The projected release date of the libra cryptocurrency is currently slated for 2020, while the project is currently being managed by the Libra Association.Headquartered from Geneva, Switzerland, the Libra Association main purpose is founded on three pillars.This includes the provision of a framework of governance oversight for the Libra network and Libra reserve, overseeing active operations and longevity of the Libra payment system, and facilitating the flow of services of the Libra Blockchain.The Libra Association is overseen by the Libra Association Council.This is comprised of organizations from the technology, telecommunication, payment, blockchain, venture capital, and nonprofit sectors.The creators of the coin are Morgan Beller, who initially started working on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology at Facebook in 2017, David Marcus, and Kevin Weil. Before the announcement of the Libra cryptocurrency on June 18th, 2019, Facebook had been considering coining the digital currency GlobalCoin or Facebook Coin.Will Libra Ever Launch? Facebook has expressed multiple times that they will not launch the Libra cryptocurrency until all regulatory matters have been met.Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has since assured lawmakers that Libra would not launch without first acquiring approval from United States regulators. Past participants of the Libra Association who left in October of 2019 include PayPal, eBay, Book Holdings, Mercado Pago, Visa, Stripe, and MasterCard. It should be noted that the source code for Libra is written in Rust that is open-source through the Apache License. What’s unique about Libra is that it will not depend upon cryptocurrency mining while only members of the Libra Association will be in a position to validate and process transactions. Facebook plans to launch a digital wallet known as Calibra in 2020, which will serve as an avenue for acquiring Libra along with Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Libra is a yet-to-be-released cryptocurrency proposed by Facebook, Inc., that will aim to serve as a global payment system and a stable financial infrastructure that people across the world can use. The projected release date of the libra cryptocurrency is currently slated for 2020, while the project is currently being managed by the Libra Association.Headquartered from Geneva, Switzerland, the Libra Association main purpose is founded on three pillars.This includes the provision of a framework of governance oversight for the Libra network and Libra reserve, overseeing active operations and longevity of the Libra payment system, and facilitating the flow of services of the Libra Blockchain.The Libra Association is overseen by the Libra Association Council.This is comprised of organizations from the technology, telecommunication, payment, blockchain, venture capital, and nonprofit sectors.The creators of the coin are Morgan Beller, who initially started working on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology at Facebook in 2017, David Marcus, and Kevin Weil. Before the announcement of the Libra cryptocurrency on June 18th, 2019, Facebook had been considering coining the digital currency GlobalCoin or Facebook Coin.Will Libra Ever Launch? Facebook has expressed multiple times that they will not launch the Libra cryptocurrency until all regulatory matters have been met.Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has since assured lawmakers that Libra would not launch without first acquiring approval from United States regulators. Past participants of the Libra Association who left in October of 2019 include PayPal, eBay, Book Holdings, Mercado Pago, Visa, Stripe, and MasterCard. It should be noted that the source code for Libra is written in Rust that is open-source through the Apache License. What’s unique about Libra is that it will not depend upon cryptocurrency mining while only members of the Libra Association will be in a position to validate and process transactions. Facebook plans to launch a digital wallet known as Calibra in 2020, which will serve as an avenue for acquiring Libra along with Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Read this Term, a global cryptocurrency network that is also slated to be integrated with Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Libra has been the target of much regulatory scrutiny as Facebook has failed to satisfy global regulators’ concerns about data privacy, anti-crime measures, and gaining too much control over the world economy.
In what seems to be a concerted effort not to further alarm regulators, Facebook seems to say that the launch of its new payments platform is essentially a re-branding of what it already offers with a few upgrades.
“People already use payments across our apps to shop, donate to causes and send money to each other,” the blog post announcing the platform reads. “Facebook Pay will make these transactions easier while continuing to ensure your payment information is secure and protected.”
The blog post also says that the platform is “built on existing financial infrastructure and partnerships.”
Mike Isaac, a Tech Reporter at the New York Times, echoed this statement in a Tweet:
fwiw a lot of the payments infrastructure is already in place across FB, Mssenger and Instagram so this is kind of a knitting together of a lot of existing things. kind of a branding exercise
(adding this to WA will be a big deal — WA and IG to come in the future) — rat king (@MikeIsaac) November 12, 2019
The new service will at first be available to users in the United States starting this week for “fundraisers, in-game purchases, event tickets, person-to-person payments on Messenger and purchases from select Pages and businesses on Facebook Marketplace.”
Rumors of a “Facebook Pay” platform emerged on Twitter in September
While the product’s official launch came on the 12th of November, whispers that Facebook may have been developing an official payments platform began on Twitter as early as September, when Twitter user and renowned app vulnerability discoverer Jane Manchun Wong came across a Facebook Pay transaction page.
I've never seen "Facebook Pay" before. Is this a rebrand or a new service?
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) September 13, 2019
“I've never seen ‘Facebook Pay’ before. Is this a rebrand or a new service?” Wong asked in a Tweet.
A number of US-based payment processors pulled out of Libra last month
Notably, the launch of Facebook Pay comes weeks after every major US-based payment processor that originally signed on as a backer to the project made the decision to pull out; namely, Visa, PayPal, Stripe, and Mastercard. eBay, Mercado Pago, and Booking.com also pulled out of the project.
However, according to CoinTelegraph, Visa CEO Alfred F. Kelly has said that Visa is still in talks with Facebook regarding Libra.
Facebook has announced the introduction of “Facebook Pay,” a Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonly the basis of exchange involves fiat currency or legal tender, be it in the form of cash, credit or bank transfers, debit, or checks. While typically associated with cash transfers, payments can also be made in anything of perceived value, be it stock or bartering – though this is far more limited today than it has been in the past.The Largest Players in the Payments IndustryFor most individuals, the payments industry is dominated currently by card companies such as Visa or Mastercard, which facilitate the use of credit or debit expenditures. More recently, this industry has seen the rise of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments services, which have gained tremendous traction in Europe, the United States, and Asia, among other continents.One of the biggest parameters for payments is timing, which looms as a crucial element for execution. By this metric, consumer demand incentivizes technology that prioritizes the fastest payment execution.This can help explain the preference for debit and credit payments overtaking check or money orders, which in previous decades were much more commonly utilized. A multi-billion-dollar industry, the payments space has seen some of the most innovation and advances in recent years as companies look to push contactless technology with faster execution times. One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonly the basis of exchange involves fiat currency or legal tender, be it in the form of cash, credit or bank transfers, debit, or checks. While typically associated with cash transfers, payments can also be made in anything of perceived value, be it stock or bartering – though this is far more limited today than it has been in the past.The Largest Players in the Payments IndustryFor most individuals, the payments industry is dominated currently by card companies such as Visa or Mastercard, which facilitate the use of credit or debit expenditures. More recently, this industry has seen the rise of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments services, which have gained tremendous traction in Europe, the United States, and Asia, among other continents.One of the biggest parameters for payments is timing, which looms as a crucial element for execution. By this metric, consumer demand incentivizes technology that prioritizes the fastest payment execution.This can help explain the preference for debit and credit payments overtaking check or money orders, which in previous decades were much more commonly utilized. A multi-billion-dollar industry, the payments space has seen some of the most innovation and advances in recent years as companies look to push contactless technology with faster execution times. Read this Term service that will eventually be operable across Facebook proper as well as Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The launch of the product, which is slated to operate similarly to Venmo or Paypal, was announced in a company blog post on Tuesday, November 12.
The company says that the service will allow its users to make payments to merchants and send money to other users using PIN numbers or biometric identification measures available on their phones.
Simplifying Payments with Facebook Pay https://t.co/KjOXPqoFOz
— Facebook Newsroom (@fbnewsroom) November 12, 2019
“People already use payments across our apps,” the announcement of the platform says
The announcement of the payment service comes in the midst of the social media giant’s ongoing efforts to launch Libra Libra Libra is a yet-to-be-released cryptocurrency proposed by Facebook, Inc., that will aim to serve as a global payment system and a stable financial infrastructure that people across the world can use. The projected release date of the libra cryptocurrency is currently slated for 2020, while the project is currently being managed by the Libra Association.Headquartered from Geneva, Switzerland, the Libra Association main purpose is founded on three pillars.This includes the provision of a framework of governance oversight for the Libra network and Libra reserve, overseeing active operations and longevity of the Libra payment system, and facilitating the flow of services of the Libra Blockchain.The Libra Association is overseen by the Libra Association Council.This is comprised of organizations from the technology, telecommunication, payment, blockchain, venture capital, and nonprofit sectors.The creators of the coin are Morgan Beller, who initially started working on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology at Facebook in 2017, David Marcus, and Kevin Weil. Before the announcement of the Libra cryptocurrency on June 18th, 2019, Facebook had been considering coining the digital currency GlobalCoin or Facebook Coin.Will Libra Ever Launch? Facebook has expressed multiple times that they will not launch the Libra cryptocurrency until all regulatory matters have been met.Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has since assured lawmakers that Libra would not launch without first acquiring approval from United States regulators. Past participants of the Libra Association who left in October of 2019 include PayPal, eBay, Book Holdings, Mercado Pago, Visa, Stripe, and MasterCard. It should be noted that the source code for Libra is written in Rust that is open-source through the Apache License. What’s unique about Libra is that it will not depend upon cryptocurrency mining while only members of the Libra Association will be in a position to validate and process transactions. Facebook plans to launch a digital wallet known as Calibra in 2020, which will serve as an avenue for acquiring Libra along with Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Libra is a yet-to-be-released cryptocurrency proposed by Facebook, Inc., that will aim to serve as a global payment system and a stable financial infrastructure that people across the world can use. The projected release date of the libra cryptocurrency is currently slated for 2020, while the project is currently being managed by the Libra Association.Headquartered from Geneva, Switzerland, the Libra Association main purpose is founded on three pillars.This includes the provision of a framework of governance oversight for the Libra network and Libra reserve, overseeing active operations and longevity of the Libra payment system, and facilitating the flow of services of the Libra Blockchain.The Libra Association is overseen by the Libra Association Council.This is comprised of organizations from the technology, telecommunication, payment, blockchain, venture capital, and nonprofit sectors.The creators of the coin are Morgan Beller, who initially started working on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology at Facebook in 2017, David Marcus, and Kevin Weil. Before the announcement of the Libra cryptocurrency on June 18th, 2019, Facebook had been considering coining the digital currency GlobalCoin or Facebook Coin.Will Libra Ever Launch? Facebook has expressed multiple times that they will not launch the Libra cryptocurrency until all regulatory matters have been met.Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has since assured lawmakers that Libra would not launch without first acquiring approval from United States regulators. Past participants of the Libra Association who left in October of 2019 include PayPal, eBay, Book Holdings, Mercado Pago, Visa, Stripe, and MasterCard. It should be noted that the source code for Libra is written in Rust that is open-source through the Apache License. What’s unique about Libra is that it will not depend upon cryptocurrency mining while only members of the Libra Association will be in a position to validate and process transactions. Facebook plans to launch a digital wallet known as Calibra in 2020, which will serve as an avenue for acquiring Libra along with Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Read this Term, a global cryptocurrency network that is also slated to be integrated with Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Libra has been the target of much regulatory scrutiny as Facebook has failed to satisfy global regulators’ concerns about data privacy, anti-crime measures, and gaining too much control over the world economy.
In what seems to be a concerted effort not to further alarm regulators, Facebook seems to say that the launch of its new payments platform is essentially a re-branding of what it already offers with a few upgrades.
“People already use payments across our apps to shop, donate to causes and send money to each other,” the blog post announcing the platform reads. “Facebook Pay will make these transactions easier while continuing to ensure your payment information is secure and protected.”
The blog post also says that the platform is “built on existing financial infrastructure and partnerships.”
Mike Isaac, a Tech Reporter at the New York Times, echoed this statement in a Tweet:
fwiw a lot of the payments infrastructure is already in place across FB, Mssenger and Instagram so this is kind of a knitting together of a lot of existing things. kind of a branding exercise
(adding this to WA will be a big deal — WA and IG to come in the future) — rat king (@MikeIsaac) November 12, 2019
The new service will at first be available to users in the United States starting this week for “fundraisers, in-game purchases, event tickets, person-to-person payments on Messenger and purchases from select Pages and businesses on Facebook Marketplace.”
Rumors of a “Facebook Pay” platform emerged on Twitter in September
While the product’s official launch came on the 12th of November, whispers that Facebook may have been developing an official payments platform began on Twitter as early as September, when Twitter user and renowned app vulnerability discoverer Jane Manchun Wong came across a Facebook Pay transaction page.
I've never seen "Facebook Pay" before. Is this a rebrand or a new service?
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) September 13, 2019
“I've never seen ‘Facebook Pay’ before. Is this a rebrand or a new service?” Wong asked in a Tweet.
A number of US-based payment processors pulled out of Libra last month
Notably, the launch of Facebook Pay comes weeks after every major US-based payment processor that originally signed on as a backer to the project made the decision to pull out; namely, Visa, PayPal, Stripe, and Mastercard. eBay, Mercado Pago, and Booking.com also pulled out of the project.
However, according to CoinTelegraph, Visa CEO Alfred F. Kelly has said that Visa is still in talks with Facebook regarding Libra.