Facebook and partners announce ‘Libra,’ a new currency with Facebook set to use a subsidiary called ‘Calibra’

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The secret’s out of the bag, or maybe it never truly was in to begin with. Anyways, Facebook with 27 organizations around the world have come together to start the non-profit Libra Association and create a new currency called Libra.

Financial inclusion is on the rise globally. The World Bank 2017 Global Findex database shows that about 1.7 billion adults remain unbanked—without an account at a financial institution or through a mobile money provider. In 2014 that number was 2 billion.

Mobile phones and the internet have created new opportunities for providing digital financial services. Being able to use mobile money can have an important positive impact on people’s lives because you don’t have to always carry cash, which can be insecure, or pay extra fees for transfers.

This is especially important for people who don’t have access to traditional banks or financial services. Right now, there are around a billion people who don’t have a bank account but do have a mobile phone.

The Libra Association is an independent, not-for-profit membership organization, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The Libra Association works to evolve and scale the network and reserve and leads a social impact grant-making program that supports financial inclusion efforts worldwide.

Libra’s mission is to create a simple global financial infrastructure that empowers billions of people around the world. It’s powered by blockchain technology is set to launch in 2020. You can read more about the association here: https://libra.org

Facebook is also launching an independent subsidiary called Calibra that will build services that let you send, spend and save Libra — starting with a digital wallet that will be available in WhatsApp and Messenger and as a standalone app next year.

Calibra will be regulated like other payment service providers. Any information you share with Calibra will be kept separate from information you share on Facebook.

From the beginning, Calibra will let you send Libra to almost anyone with a smartphone at low to no cost. Over time, Facebook hopes to offer more services for people and businesses — like paying bills with the push of a button, buying coffee with the scan of a code, or riding local public transit without needing to carry cash or a metro pass.

What we’ve found in almost two decades of work with the financially vulnerable is that when provided with the right tools, people make good financial decisions. We’ve all read that blockchain is a solution in search of a problem. If a blockchain-based stable cryptocurrency can make a lasting dent in this problem – by offering underserved people critical tools: a stable, secure, convenient place to store and move funds – we should do all we can to understand and explore the opportunity.– Timothy Flacke, Executive Director, Commonwealth

All of this is built on blockchain technology. It’s decentralized — meaning it’s run by many different organizations instead of just one, making the system fairer overall. It’s available to anyone with an internet connection and has low fees and costs. And it’s secured by cryptography which helps keep your money safe.

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