MOVING MONEY POLITICS–2021 has been a disastrous year for Facebook (now Meta) – and deservedly so. Thanks to ex-employee Frances Haugen, we know this monolithic tech giant repeatedly put profit before the world’s well-being.
According to Ms. Haugen, Meta had done extensive research into the effects of their platforms on teenage girls. For instance, these teams knew Instagram had a profoundly negative impact on those suffering from mental health challenges.
And yet, Facebook did nothing.
But that was just the tip of the iceberg. In many countries embattled by civil strife, hate speech filters were nonexistent, fuelling racist hate. And here in America, automated post regulators only managed to take down 2%-5% of content promoting “Stop the Steal” efforts.
Amid this level of controversy, any moral company would make sweeping changes. But not Facebook – on October 28th, they opted to change the channel instead. At Connect 2021, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the Facebook family of companies was rebranding to Meta.
While the name refers to the dawn of “The Metaverse,” the timing of this announcement was just a bit too convenient.
Yes, I’ll say it – this dramatic spectacle was nothing more than a distraction. And if we allow Zuckerberg and Co. to get away with it, they’ll continue to do self-serving, profit-maximizing stuff that’ll only make the world worse.
Get Ready to Pay More for Money Transfers: Introducing Novi by Meta
They’re already making their next move. For years, Facebook had been working on a money transfer service. And one week before Connect 2021, they finally showed their hand. On October 19th, they announced the launch of Novi Money Transfer.
On the surface, Novi by Facebook promises a remittance revolution. In their promotional material, Novi Money Transfer touts fee-free, peer-to-peer remittances, delivered in seconds rather than days. As the service rolls out, we imagine that initial Novi Money transfer reviews will be quite positive.
But don’t be fooled: there’s no such thing as a free lunch. In our research for this piece, we uncovered some eyebrow-raising comments from Novi by Meta chief executive. According to David Marcus, they plan on making money by monetizing customer/merchant transactions, starting in 2023. But even after that date, they plan to continue offering free peer-to-peer transactions.
In other words, Meta plans on using its monopoly power to undercut the entire remittances market. The reaction of money transfer veterans tells you everything you need to know. On the day that Novi Money Transfer launched, stocks of many remittance and money transfer firms tanked.
In particular, …….