Facebook is debuting its Novi digital wallet as part of a pilot program in Guatemala and the U.S., according to a Tuesday (Oct. 19) company announcement.
The long-awaited digital wallet enables people to send and receive money abroad instantly, securely and without fees, according to the social media giant.
As part of the pilot program – which is aimed at confirming the social network’s operational readiness, as well as testing to ensure that its customer response, compliance and core features are functioning properly – the social media network is partnering with Paxos and Coinbase.
See also: Facebook Ties Novi Launch to Diem, May Include NFT Features
In August, Facebook said that its Novi digital wallet would launch in conjunction with the debut of the Diem digital coin, as PYMNTS reported.
On Tuesday, David Marcus, Facebook’s head of Novi, said in the announcement that “our support for Diem has not changed.” In addition, Marcus said that Facebook plans to transition Novi to the Diem payment network once regulatory approvals are received.
“The goal for Novi has been and always will be to be interoperable with other digital wallets, and we believe a purpose-built blockchain for payments, like Diem, is critical to delivering solutions to the problems that people experience with the current payment system,” Marcus said.
Facebook partnered with Paxos so that the social media giant could evaluate its systems with a stablecoin that has been operating for more than three years, has regulatory control and is fully backed by the U.S. dollar, according to the announcement.
A limited number of users can install Novi via the Google Play and Apple App Store. Others may be placed on a wait list, the company said.
Related news: Two Facebook Crypto Engineers Jump Ship for Andreessen Horowitz
Facebook has faced its share of challenges throughout the process of developing the Novi digital wallet. Last week, two crypto engineers who had been working for the last two years on Novi resigned from their positions to begin work with the cryptocurrency staff at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, as PYMNTS reported.
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