Meta’s money transfer service, Novi will wind down operations on September 1, the company has said.
Meta launched the pilot of its digital wallet as Libra, in October last year.
The pilot, during its inception, had adopted its cryptocurrency, Diem, but criticisms from regulators had led it to change plans.
Novi sought to enable users to make cheap and fast payments in cryptocurrency.
The company in a statement said that users will be unable to access their wallets from July 21.
It urged users to empty their wallets before then.
“Both the Novi app and Novi on WhatsApp will no longer be available starting September 1, 2022. When the pilot ends, you will not be able to log in and access your Novi account.
Please also be aware that starting July 21, 2022, you will no longer be able to add money to your account.
“If you have money remaining in your Novi account after the pilot ends on September 1, 2022, we’ll attempt to transfer your balance to the bank account or debit card you’ve added to Novi.” a post on Novi’s website read.
It also noted that users will be unable to add funds to the wallet, but the company will try to transfer any funds remaining after the expiration of the deadline.
The company added that the user’s data and transaction history will be cleared.
Users have been given the opportunity of either withdrawing the money and getting it in their bank accounts as well as cashing it from the nearest withdrawal point.
“We’ve spent years building capabilities for Meta as a whole on the blockchain and launching new products such as digital collections, “You can expect us to see more in the web3 space as we are very optimistic that these technologies can bring value to people and businesses in the metaverse.
“We are already leveraging the years spent on building capabilities for Meta overall on blockchain and introducing new products, such as digital collectibles,” Meta said in the statement.
“You can expect to see more from us in the web3 space because we are very
optimistic about the value these technologies can bring to people and businesses in the metaverse.” the company said in a statement.
Initially, the company had intended to use ‘Diem’, its backed cryptocurrency, but later changed to partner with Coin base to use Paxos stablecoin.
The company had aimed to enable the sending and receiving of cryptocurrency through the Novi payment platform.
Unfortunately, Diem shut down its operations early this year, precisely in February.
Shortly after it was launched in October, the company’s project was heavily criticized by the US Senate.
Some senators, including Brian Schatz and Elizabeth Warren, were propelled to write an open letter to Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
The senators had expressed concerns over what they described as the pilot’s “aggressive timeline”.
The duo noted that Novi was incompatible with the actual financial regulatory landscape and presented risks to the US’s financial stability.
