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Facebook Launches Fintech Product Group F2 to Run Payments Across All its Apps

Facebook has expanded its fintech horizons and announced the launch of a new product group dedicated to payments purposes.

Introducing Facebook Financial

The new group, called Facebook Financial, or F2 by the internal team behind it, will direct all Facebook payments projects and regroup all of the platform’s ventures under one umbrella. The fintech project includes Facebook Pay, which is the social media company’s universal payment system. Facebook plans to incorporate it inside all of its apps.

Facebook implements payments project

Facebook Financial will be run by Facebook cryptocurrency Libra’s co-creator, David Marcus. In speaking about his company’s move on payments projects to Bloomberg, Marcus said, “We have a lot of commerce stuff going on across Facebook. It felt like it was the right thing to do to rationalize the strategy at a company level around all things payments.”

Facebook is seeking to improve its commerce and payments within the company, and across all apps that it owns, which include Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has publicly announced that he planning on integrating all of Facebook’s messaging services. The belief is that by making a payment system available across all apps, Facebook’s advertising will grow to be indispensable, which consequently will boost the amount of time that Facebook users spend on Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Facebook.

Rebranding of Libra’s crypto wallet

Libra co-creator Marcus appears to be the perfect person to direct the new payments project launched by Facebook, as he has been working for Facebook since 2014 and was formerly the president of PayPal Holdings Inc. The Facebook veteran has been hard at work in making Libra a cryptocurrency that can be used for cross border payments purposes.

With Facebook Financial, Facebook’s previous fintech ventures will all be integrated under one entity. Marcus will be managing the Novi wallet, which is simply a rebranding of Libra’s digital wallet Calibra- and he will be working on implementing a payment system on the WhatsApp messaging platform.

Fintech ventures by the bulk

Facebook has been trying to market WhatsApp payments services in India and Brazil. The company has been actively trying to branch out and integrate into those countries’ commercial market, but due to regulations, WhatsApp payments projects in India and Brazil have not yet been implemented.

Facebook CEO Zuckerberg is anticipating what its company’s new fintech venture. He said:

“As payments grow across Messenger and WhatsApp, and as we’re able to roll that out in more places, I think that that will only grow as a trend.”

It has been a busy year for Facebook, with Zuckerberg testifying recently in front of US Congress during an antitrust hearing. His company has been receiving backlash in relation to regulatory issues revolving around its native digital currency Libra. As reported by Blockchain.News, Libra was initially set to launch as a permissionless digital currency that was widely accessible to all. However, due to regulatory mishaps, the project has not been pursued nor approved, as Swiss Financial Markets Supervisory Authority (FINMA) regulators did not back the project, following a payment system license registration filed by Libra.

Marcus, who has been working on Libra for quite some time, appears to have just the expertise Facebook is looking for to not only navigate financial services policies, but to launch Facebook’s new F2 project off the ground.

Hackers Demand Bitcoin Ransom in Exchange for Unlocking Maltese Instagram User Accounts

Instagram users from Malta were reportedly attacked by hackers. Criminals were demanding that users pay Bitcoin if they wished to have their accounts redeemed.

Local media outlet Lovin Malta reported that hackers contacted victims through Instagram chat, casually demanding that they pay Bitcoin if they wished to regain access to their accounts. At least a hundred users were targeted. The hackers are allegedly Turkey-based and this cybercrime has been happening for a few months.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies prices surged over the past weeks, drawing the attention of online hackers who are more incentivized to commit cybercrimes to obtain cryptocurrencies. Local police confirmed receiving several reports related to this issue while investigations were ongoing. The authority cannot confirm the origin of the criminal act at this stage yet. Cybercrime in Malta has been intensified over recent years. The authority conducted more than 4500 cases from 2017 to 2020, compared to 2003, when there were only 50 cases.

Police urged the public to not accept any requests from the criminals and not to send any money. Additionally, users are advised frequently to change passwords to secure their accounts.

Recently, with the surge in popularity of cryptocurrencies, cybercrime has also intensified, especially amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to a Kasperky report, the current pandemic is likely to trigger a huge wave of unemployment and poverty, which in turn will translate to more people engaging in cybercrime as a way of gaining more livelihood.

Twitter & Instagram Reportedly To Launch NFT Collectibles

Twitter and Instagram reportedly develop non-fungible tokens (NFT) feature on its app, a mobile developer reveals.

Mobile developer Alessandro Paluzzi released his findings on Twitter Monday, demonstrating potential updates and saying, “Twitter is working to support two new services”, including Chipper Cash and Wealthsimple, but without further elaborations.

Last month, Paluzzi indicated that Instagram is working on NFT bidding options to users by providing a platform to sell their “Collectible” products on its platform. However, Instagram has yet to announce the launching of NFT on its platform or show any potential payment features on the platform.

According to the BeInCrypto, Instagram could offer a paid service for exclusive fans of Instagram creators. that of Patreon and Only Fans. Implementing payment methods and monetisation tools on Instagram would easily allow for NFTs on the platform.

More sectors are taking this opportunity to deal with the NFT business. E-commerce retailer eBay launched NFT sales on their platform for digital collectables last months, such as video clips and images. On the other hand, another NFT product called Beeple sold at auction for nearly $70 million has been considered the biggest NFT sale.

Instagram to Welcome NFTs Feature, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Confirms

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Meta will add the Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) function to its video and photo social app Instagram in the coming months so that users might display their NFTs on the platform.

Zuckerberg reportedly said at a South by Southwest forum Tuesday in Austin, Texas:

“We’re working on bringing NFTs to Instagram in the near term.”

Zuckerberg hopes that Instagram users will be able to mint their own NFTs on the platform in the near future. However, “I’m not ready to kind of announce exactly what that’s going to be today,” Zuckerberg refused to share specifics on when and how the framework might work.

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, its application Instagram reportedly developed non-fungible tokens (NFT) feature on its app, a mobile developer reveals since last July.

On the other hand, last June, Mobile developer Alessandro Paluzzi indicated that Instagram is working on NFT bidding options to users by providing a platform to sell their “Collectible” products on its platform. However, Instagram has yet to announce the launching of NFT on its platform or show any potential payment features on the platform.

Online adult content subscription platform OnlyFans has launched a feature for users to display verified NFTs as profile pictures, Blockchain.News reported on February 11.

As reported by blockchain. News on January 21, social media platform Twitter announced that it was rolling out an official verification mechanism for NFT avatars, allowing some users to set the NFTs they own as their profile picture.

Following in the footsteps of Twitter, Reddit is eyeing to permit users to have NFT-based profile pictures through a feature that is being tested on January 27.

Instagram to Support NFT Integration Across 4 Popular Exchange Platforms

Meta Platform Inc’s social media offshoot, Instagram is reportedly on track to support Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) from 4 prominent blockchain protocols including Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Polygon (MATIC), and Flow (FLOW).

First broken by Coindesk, the social media giant is notably set to permit NFTs resident on these blockchains to be showcased as display pictures on the profile of users who own them.

The social media platform will not charge users for this service and uploading an NFT will give users the opportunity to prove their ownership and they will be able to tag the creators of these digital collectibles to further contribute to their overall authenticity.

The new service or allowance is billed to be available only to residents in the United States, and Coindesk was unclear whether the support for these blockchain networks will be rolled out at once or in phases. What is however clear is that the social media will support Metamask, the most popular wallet for keeping custody of NFTs.

The popularity of NFTs has grown by more than a mile since CryptoPunks and the early pioneers were introduced. Today, many retail investors have been collecting NFTs and the visibility this trend has granted to the new offshoot of blockchain technology is now non-negligible.

The choice of the 4 blockchains is centered on the fact that the bulk of NFT transactions is resident on these blockchains, and the integration by Instagram is billed to draw broad acceptability across the board.

With more than 1 billion Monthly Active Users (MAUs), Instagram is a major hub that can help grow the overall acceptance and mainstream adoption of NFTs in general. When the new integration of NFTs as DP is officially launched by the social media giant, the creativity of the social media platform is bound to be fully showcased.

Facebook Commences Trials for Digital Collectible Integration

Social media giant, Facebook has reportedly commenced trials for the integration of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on its platform. The Meta Platforms Inc subsidiary has notably limited the trials to select users in the United States.

As reported by TechCrunch, the users that have been granted exclusive access will be able to add their NFTs on their profiles under a new tab. The report detailed that a ‘digital collectibles’ tag will be added on the NFTs just as it is on Instagram.

The move to launch NFT support on Facebook comes off as another deliberate attempt by the tech giant to extend its foothold in the digital currency ecosystem and the emerging Web3.0 world. Last week, Meta Platforms Chief Executive Officer, Mark Zuckerberg gave a hint that Facebook will be launching support for NFTs in a short while.

Navdeep Singh, a product manager at Meta shared a tweet showcasing what the new NFT feature will look like. From an array of screenshots posted, it is obvious that when any visitor clicks on the NFTs on a user’s Facebook profile, it will show details about the digital collectible including its name, and the art’s creators.

Meta Platforms first launched NFT support on Instagram back in May, a move that has seen very wide acclaim and embrace across the board. The success of the Instagram NFTs is perhaps what is driving the new integration on Facebook as the company seeks to make all of its platforms a metaverse-centric world.

The Instagram-backed NFTs feature digital collectibles hosted on both Ethereum and Polygon, with support for Solana and Flow currently underway. While there has been no confirmation that the NFTs on Facebook will be those from these public blockchain networks, chances are that Ethereum-backed collectibles will also be supported.

Meta Platforms rebranded its entire focus from being a predominantly social media platform to that with a focus on the metaverse. These NFT supports are its first steps into achieving the goal of ushering in a future where everyone lives and socializes in the metaverse.

Meta Instagram Embraces NFT, Expanding Footprints to 100 Countries

Months after it integrated Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) into Instagram for American users, Meta Platforms announced the expansion of the allowance to as many as 100 other countries.

The test launch for the NFTs on Instagram was made announced in May to select creators in the U.S.

The functionality will now let users in other continents, including the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific. With the enhanced allowance, users will now be able to upload their NFTs as profile pictures and even in their stories. The Meta Platforms functionalities for the NFTs on Instagram will permit users to input the description for the digital collectable as well.

The authenticity of the uploaded NFT can easily be verified, and users can always tag the digital collectable’s page and creator for additional proof of claim.

In addition to the expansion announcement, Meta Platforms also revealed that it has increased the number of compatible blockchain networks to include Flow from Dapper Labs. Based on this, investors can now upload their NFTs from Ethereum, Polygon, and Flow, respectively.

The company also aims to make global access to its NFT functionality on Instagram a seamless one and has also added support for Coinbase and Dapper Wallets in a bid to complement Rainbow, MetaMask, and Trust Wallet, which it integrated earlier.

Meta Platforms is taking its Web3.0 and Metaverse drive seriously as the company is nurturing a future that is bound to dominate social media interactions. While the entire concept of the metaverse is still relatively vague, companies like Meta Platforms are notably developing innovations within the confines of trademark applications they have applied for.

Besides Instagram, NFT testing for Facebook is also gaining momentum, with trials launched in early July this year. Besides Meta, other social media platforms, including Twitter and Reddit, are also taking their NFT drives to new heights.

Meta Platform's CEO Gets Probed by Senators on Crime Combating Measures on its Apps

The data received from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has shown a high increment of crypto scams on social media.

To this effect, a group of U.S Senators wrote a letter to Meta Platform’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday to inquire about strategies he is putting in place to mitigate the rise in fraud as a result of cryptocurrency use through the firm’s platforms such as Whatsapp, Facebook, and Instagram.

According to reports gotten by FTC, between January and March, most crypto scams originated from social media platforms and have cost consumers a total of $417 million. This fraud comes in various forms ranging from users being asked to invest in investment schemes where they are promised high returns to ‘’ lovers fraud’’ where users are promised love with the sole intent of defrauding them.

Detailed information has been requested from Zuckerberg on how future fraud occurrence through the use of cryptocurrency will be prevented. The pertinent questions raised include strategies put in place to find and kick out scammers, methods to verify that crypto ads are not scams, policies to help the victims of fraud, and how Meta collaborates with law enforcement agents to make sure that scammers are brought to book.

Meta’s Efforts to Combat Crime

Meta had previously mentioned that there is a high propensity for crypto scammers to use its platforms to perpetrate crime. In reality, Facebook outlawed cryptocurrency advertisements in January 2018 because “many organizations are advertising binary options, ICOs, and cryptocurrencies that are not operating in good faith.”

Facebook announced in 2020 that it will take legal action against a Bangkok-based Indian man, Basant Gajjar over an alleged crypto crime because he created and sold software that enables malicious actors to get around Facebook’s automatic advertising review systems and show consumers unapproved adverts.

In 2020, Facebook users also claimed that there was a ban on Bitcoin-related content. Facebook posts that had pictures, text, and videos with Bitcoin tags were restricted from the public’s view.

Meta Introduces Digital Collectibles NFT Features on Instagram & Facebook

On September 29, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced that users on Facebook and Instagram in the US can now connect their wallets and share their digital collectables.

The company said that users of both platforms will be able to cross-post digital collectables they own and connect their associated wallets on Facebook and Instagram.

Additionally, there are no fees for posting or sharing digital collectables on Instagram, and it supports users in 100 countries to share non-fungible tokens.

The Meta platform also revealed in August that it had increased the number of compatible blockchain networks, including Flow from Dapper Labs. Based on this, investors can now upload their non-fungible tokens (NFTs) from Ethereum, Polygon, and Flow, respectively.

The company also plans to make its non-ft features on Instagram seamlessly accessible globally and has added support for Coinbase and Dapper wallets to complement its earlier integrations with Rainbow, MetaMask, and Trust wallets.

In May, Instagram announced a trial run of NFTs in the US to select creators.

In addition to Instagram, a non-NFT test on Facebook is also in developing, with the NFT feature being rolled out to some US creators in early July this year.

Since NFTs help build authentic intellectual property, this is one of the key drivers expected to push the sector to a $97.6 billion valuation by 2028, according to a report by Research and Markets.

Besides Meta, other social media platforms, including Twitter and Reddit, are also taking their NFT drives to new heights.

Instagram to Run Polygon-backed NFT Marketplace

Meta has announced that social media giant Instagram will be introducing a non-fungible tokens (NFTs) marketplace that will run with the support of Polygon.

“Creators will soon be able to make their own digital collectables on Instagram and sell them to fans, both on and off Instagram,” Meta announced in an updated blog post.

According to Meta, users will get an end-to-end toolkit starting on the Polygon blockchain. The kit will consist of the creation and showcasing to finally selling.

Through this new feature, users can easily buy and sell NFTs within Instagram, eliminating other middle persons.

Although this new feature has already been available to a small number of users in the U.S, Meta said that they would launch it fullscale in other countries. This move is towards Meta’s goal of expanding into the crypto ecosystem.

According to Meta’s commerce fintech and web3 lead Stephane Kasriel, Meta’s success in the crypto ecosystem requires tapping into the $100 billion worth creator economy with greater portability than the current web service.

On September 29, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced that Facebook and Instagram users in the US can now connect their wallets and share their digital collectables.

The company said that users of both platforms would be able to cross-post digital collectables they own and connect their associated wallets on Facebook and Instagram.

Meta has also announced that they will not charge creators fees in their digital collectables marketplace until 202; rather, the company is focusing on helping creators earn a living.

Until the mentioned date, Meta has planned to pay for the blockchain-related gas costs from their own pocket.

The company also has plans to make its non-NFT features on Instagram seamlessly accessible globally. It has added support for Coinbase and Dapper wallets to complement its earlier integrations with Rainbow, MetaMask, and Trust wallets.

In addition to Instagram, a non-NFT test on Facebook is also in development, with the NFT feature being rolled out to some US creators in early July this year.

Since NFTs help build authentic intellectual property, this is one of the key drivers expected to push the sector to a $97.6 billion valuation by 2028, according to a report by Research and Markets.

Besides Meta, other social media platforms, including Twitter and Reddit, are also taking their NFT drives to new heights.