Does Facebook Need A Humanitarian Partner For Its New Digital Currency?
Monday, July 22, 2019
By Malaka Gharib
It’s not easy giving money to people in need.
In some countries, poor people may not have a bank account where a charity can transfer funds for financial aid. They may not have the ID — say, a birth certificate — required to cash a check at a bank.
And in an emergency situation — say, the aftermath of an earthquake — banks may not even be operating.
Could a single global digital currency — one that can be transferred through mobile phones — be a solution?
That’s the way that Libra will operate. It’s a new currency incubated at Facebook and announced in June. Libra, according to its website, wants to “reinvent” money by making a financial transaction as cheap and simple as “sending a text message or sharing a photo.”
Photo courtesy of Ken Teegardin.
Source: NPR Goats & Soda (link opens in a new window)
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