[kictanet] Vodafone snubs Libra in favour of growing M-Pesa digital money

[Ali Hussein]

@Willis

Facebook went to great lengths to assure partners it won’t control Libra. To the extent of creating a consortium with representation across the divide. I guess they failed to dispense the fears of regulators and policy makers. I’m very convinced that the pressure to leave the Libra Consortium came from other quarters other than the reasons being given by those who are now bailing out after paying $10 million to join the Libra Consortium. 

Read more about the Libra Consortium below.

https://techcrunch.com/2019/06/18/facebook-libra/

Ali Hussein
+254 0713 601113 

Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."  ~ Aristotle


Sent from my iPad

> On 23 Jan 2020, at 8:50 PM, Willis Muriu via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
> 
> 
> For me, the one major issue was that it was "controlled" by Facebook (centralized) unlike Bitcoin (decentralized.)
> 
> Another reason, I think, is because it proved to be serious competition to the Dollar, and you have heard what happens when you challenge the Dollar.
> 
> Regards,
> Willis Muriu
> +254 715 530 349
> 
>> On Thu, Jan 23, 2020 at 6:37 PM Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>> Interesting...Most of the incumbent players are one by one abandoning Libra. What gives? Pressure from regulators? 
>> 
>> Here are some of the other companies that have bailed out on Libra. The list includes Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Mercado Pago and eBay.
>> 
>> Pressure from regulators and policy makers is real.
>> 
>> Regards
>> 
>> Ali Hussein
>> 
>> Tel: +254 713 601113
>> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>> Skype: abu-jomo
>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
>> 
>> 
>>> On Thu, Jan 23, 2020 at 4:10 PM Mwendwa Kivuva via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>> Vodafone has withdrawn from Facebook’s digital currency initiative Libra, as regulators and bureaucrats circle overhead.
>>> 
>>> While Facebook might have become accustomed to sitting in the regulatory spotlight, it seems other companies are not as accepting of the attention. In an increasing tsunami of regulatory scrutiny, Vodafone has become the latest company to withdraw from the Libra initiative, joining the likes of Paypal and Mastercard.
>>> 
>>> “Vodafone Group has decided to withdraw from the Libra Association,” a Vodafone spokesperson said.
>>> 
>>> “We have said from the outset that Vodafone’s desire is to make a genuine contribution to extending financial inclusion. We remain fully committed to that goal and feel that we can make the most contribution by focusing our efforts on M-Pesa. We will continue to monitor the development of the Libra Association and do not rule out the possibility of future co-operation.”
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> https://telecoms.com/501960/vodafone-snubs-libra-in-favour-of-m-pesa/
>>> 
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