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A Devil’s Bargain to Bank the Unbanked: Why Financial Inclusion Advocates Shouldn’t Trust Facebook’s Libra
As you've likely heard, Facebook has entered the inclusive finance arena, pitching Libra, a global cryptocurrency – ostensibly to promote financial inclusion. But as Digital Equity co-founder Valerie Khan argues, there are plenty of reasons to doubt Facebook's intentions and Libra's “social good” marketing campaign. In fact, she says, "Facebook is not being transparent about its real interest in Libra" – and both financial inclusion advocates and emerging countries should beware.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Viewpoint: The Upside to Facebook’s Libra Disaster
If Facebook really wants to bring financial services to the “unbanked,” it should try doing it on a smaller scale than these companies’ presence promised. And even then, the probability of failure will be high.
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- Finance
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UNICEF Now Accepting Donations Through Bitcoin and Ether
This system of decentralisation offers non-profit organisations the advantage of bypassing expensive fees and middlemen traditionally required to move large amounts of cash overseas quickly. But the virtual currencies have also been divisive.
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- Finance, Technology
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PayPal Is the First Company to Drop out of the Facebook-Led Libra Association
“PayPal has made the decision to forgo further participation in the Libra Association at this time and to continue to focus on advancing our existing mission and business priorities as we strive to democratize access to financial services for underserved populations,” PayPal said in an emailed statement to TechCrunch.
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- Finance
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Crypto May Be the Future of Humanitarian Aid
Venezuelans need a way to access the world economic marketplace that bypasses the regime’s control, a way to attain a degree of financial independence. And for some citizens of Venezuela, help has arrived in the form of bitcoin.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Latin America
- Tags
- cryptocurrency
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Viewpoint: Libra Is an Opportunity to Leapfrog Chinese Fintech to Achieve Cashless Economy
Penetration into offshore markets could accomplish a long-coveted Communist Party goal — replacing the international prominence of the dollar with a yuan-based alternative. If widely adopted, Libra — whose backers include Visa, Mastercard and Paypal — could shut those doors forever.
- Categories
- Finance
- Tags
- cryptocurrency, fintech
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The Group Overseeing Facebook’s Libra Cryptocurrency Will Apply for a Payments License in Switzerland
The Libra Association, the organization in charge of overseeing Facebook’s proposed cryptocurrency, said Wednesday it will apply for a payments license in Switzerland.
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- Finance
- Region
- Europe & Eurasia
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Venezuelans Use Cryptocurrency to Bypass Corruption, Inflation
Aid providers say digital currencies are becoming an important route to bypassing corruption or repressive regimes.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Latin America
- Tags
- cryptocurrency