Checkout.com, a UK-based payments startup, has joined the Libra Association, the digital currency project set up by Facebook in 2019.
Checkout.com is the first payment processor to join the initiative since US payments companies Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe all pulled out over regulatory concerns in October 2019, according to CNBC. In recent weeks, other companies have said they will back Libra, including ecommerce provider Shopify, non-profit organisation Heifer International, and cryptocurrency brokerage Tagomi.
Libra was introduced by Facebook back in June 2019 as a global currency that would allow users to make faster and cheaper cross-border payments. But the project attracted concerns from policymakers around the world who worried it could heavily disrupt the financial system, risk potential money laundering, and compete with fiat currencies like the US dollar.
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