Social Media behemoth Facebook is renaming its digital wallet Calibra which was adopted by people to store its own cryptocurrency Libra to Novi.
The new name is motivated by the Latin words “novus” for “new” and “via” for “way”, the social media giant said in its official blog.
“While we have changed our name from Calibra, we have not changed our long-term commitment to helping people around the world access affordable financial services.” – Facebook Statement.
“Novi’s new visual identity and design represent the fluid movement of digital currencies … we have also included a nod to the Libra icon in the brand logo to underscore our commitment to the Libra network.”
Novi will now be produced under Novi Financial, the renamed Facebook subsidiary that will develop the company’s digital wallet.
The organization is striving to present an early version of Novi when the Libra cryptocurrency is available. It will be rolled out in a set of countries, with features that will make “cross-border money transfers instant, secure and with no hidden fees”, the firm said.
Formerly arranged to launch next month, the digital wallet is now anticipated to come out in October and will support multiple currencies. The renaming of its digital wallet is the latest in a series of developments that Facebook has made to its cryptocurrency project since its launch in June last year.
In March, it was reported that Facebook is redesigning the whole cryptocurrency project as its top supporters remain unwilling to grant public support in the face of rising opposition from regulators.
At the time of Libra’s launch in June last year, Facebook announced it would revolutionize the global payments system by providing a safe alternative to the unbanked to shift money. The social media company considers that there are nearly 1.7 billion adults worldwide without a bank account or introduction to financial services.
However, the cold response the project experienced from administrators, especially in the US where Facebook’s record on data privacy came in for review, led to many high-profile partners withdraw from the project.
The regulators said it could possibly promote money laundering, terrorist financing and enable anti-competitive activity as the entrance into the finance of a social media company could direct to “new, coercive forms” of debt gathering.
