The British telecommunications giant Vodafone opted out of the digital currency Libra developed by Facebook. Instead, they want to focus on the M-Pesa money transfer system, a spokesman said on Wednesday. M-Pesa, co-founded by Vodafone, is particularly strong in Africa. At the same time, renewed cooperation at the later point in time is not excluded.
Libra started in October, but…
The Libra Association, which manages the digital currency, was launched in October. Before that, global financial service providers such as Mastercard, Visa and Paypal as well as the trading platform eBay and the online travel company Booking Holdings got out of the circle of partners. On the other hand, companies such as Spotify, Uber and Lyft are still on board.
A Vodafone spokesperson said, “Vodafone Group has decided to withdraw from the Libra Association. We have said from the outset that Vodafone’s desire is to make a genuine contribution to extending financial inclusion.”
Facebook plans to make Libra available to consumers next year, according to previous announcements, and assumes that the digital currency will initially be used primarily for cross-border transfers. The idea has met with fierce opposition from politicians and central banks initially.
Libra is said to be hedged one on one with a basket of stable currencies and government bonds. Facebook rejects concerns that the digital currency could interfere with the sovereignty of central banks.
