Facebook Is Planning to Launch Crypto-Currency in 2020 - What Is GlobalCoin?

Facebook is getting into the crypto-currency game.

The social network platform plans to set up a digital payment system, which is being called GlobalCoin internally, in about a dozen countries by the first quarter of 2020, according to the BBC.

Detailed plans for the currency are expected to be outlined this summer. Founder Mark Zuckerberg reportedly already met with Bank of England governor Mark Carney to discuss opportunities and risks.

Facebook’s plan is to create a digital currency that provides affordable and secure ways of making payments, regardless of whether a user has a bank account, enabling people to change their currency into digital coins.

They are also in talks with online merchants to accept the currency as payment in exchange for lower transaction fees.

Concerns include security, especially considering Facebook’s recent personal data breaches. The U.S. Senate & Banking Committee also penned an open letter to Mark to ask how the currency will work, and how consumers will be protected and secured.

The move follows Facebook’s Credits program a decade ago, which allowed people to buy items in apps on the site. The program closed after less than two years.

For more details about the proposed crypto-currency, head to BBC.com.