Facebook’s (META 0.93%) Libra Association, the governing body for its digital token, just landed its first payments company as a member since Visa, Matercard, and Stripe pulled out.
In a blog post, Checkout.com, the UK digital payments company said over the past few years it had witnessed from afar the birth of different digital currencies. While it believed in the potential benefits, it also felt strongly regulation should be a part of any framework. Absent regulation, Checkout.com CEO Guillaume Pousaz said technological advancements alone will fail to provide a secure and stable infrastructure, hurting the adoption of cryptocurrencies. But with Libra, Pousaz said Checkout.com found a partner that shares its vision.
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“The Libra project holds the promise of increasing financial inclusion for billions of unbanked people, empowering them to participate in the digital economy and reducing disparities,” wrote the CEO. “It is obvious to me and the wider Checkout.com team that we want to be part of this effort and can contribute to this endeavor by bringing our unparalleled payments engineering expertise.”
By joining the Libra Association, Checkout.com is the first payments company to come on board after Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe pulled out of the tech group in October over concerns the digital currency wouldn’t get the backing of regulators.
With regulators concerned about Facebook’s digital currency ambitions, the Libra Association has retooled its offering, announcing earlier this month it will support multiple versions of Libra backed by fiat currencies including the U.S. dollar and euro. It also expressed interest in working with regulators, central banks, and financial institutions around the world to expand the number of single-currency stablecoins on the Libra network. The coins would be a digital extension of the currency of the participating country. The Libra Association isn’t backing away from plans to unveil a multi-currency coin that could be used for cross-border payments.
