British Payment Firm Checkout.​com Joins the Libra Association

Published at: April 28, 2020

In a fresh move to revive Facebook-backed digital currency project Libra, the Libra Association has onboarded another member.

British payment startup Checkout.com has joined the Libra Association, becoming the 24th member engaged with the mission of building a better global payment network, Libra tweeted on April 28.

Tech advancements would fail without necessary regulatory frameworks

Guillaume Pousaz, Checkout.com founder and CEO, officially announced the news in a company statement on Tuesday. The executive outlined that Checkout.com joins Libra’s efforts to not only promote technological advancement but contribute to the formation of necessary regulatory framework to drive mass adoption of better payment solutions.

Pousaz argued that without such regulation framework, the technological breakthrough is not possible:

“Regulation should form an integral part of any resulting framework, given its unique ability to protect the ecosystem from systemic abuses. Absent of such regulation, it is our fundamental belief that the technological advancements alone would fail to provide the secure and stable payments infrastructure required to drive mass adoption, impeding its progress.”

The Checkout.com CEO continued to say that the firm has joined the Libra Association because the digital currency project can open finance to billions of unbanked people. Pousaz added that Libra’s principles come in line with Checkout.com’s mission to change the way that businesses interact with financial services for the better.

Visa and Mastercard previously abandoned Libra amid regulatory hurdles

Checkout.com’s entrance to the Libra Association comes after a series of departures from the group by top payment firms including Visa and Mastercard. In October 2019, Visa, EBay, Stripe and Mastercard abandoned Facebook's digital project Libra amid increased regulatory concerns.

Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga eventually argued that the firm decided to leave the Libra project because the firm’s key members refused to commit to “not do anything that is not fully compliant with local law.”

Coitnelegraph asked Checkout.com to comment on Libra’s late 2019 departures but did not receive an immediate response. This story will be updated should they respond.

Libra reinforces its efforts to launch the project in Q4 2020

Despite multiple departures, the Libra Association has been reinforcing its commitment to launch a global payment network so far. In mid-April 2020, Libra applied for a payment license from a major Swiss regulator, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). In conjunction with the application, the Libra Association has also made several major alterations to its white paper in an apparent effort to move forward with the project.

Since announcing the FINMA application news, Libra has been pushing the project even harder. On April 20, the Libra Association was joined by non-profit organization Heifer International. The Libra project is also apparently preparing to significantly expand its team in 2020 as Libra’s  digital wallet Calibra is also looking to create 50 new roles for its workforce in Ireland.

Earlier today, the Libra Association’s vice chair Dante Disparte said that the Libra project continues to rely on blockchain technology and is expected to launch in Q4 2020.

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