residence where Mark Zuckerberg, together with some friends, created a platform that would make him a millionaire is a long time ago . Facebook is no longer a social network in the usual sense; those from Menlo Park have become a business giant that is now looking for new challenges.
And this direction seems to be focused on the financial sector. They are not the only ones: Google, Amazon and Apple want to encompass much more than what was the germ of their activity and this may also be another of their objectives.
The decision by Facebook - one of the major players in the digital economy - is a cause of great concern for traditional banking and financial institutions. This is also true in Spain, where the Bank of Spain and the Spanish Banking Association (AEB) have already warned of the dangers that would threaten economic stability if Facebook enters into an equation in which - it is assumed - it has no place.
The spotlight is on the company, even though, as El Mundo reports , there is a nee albania phone number for supervisory action "appropriate" to the circumstances. There is clear concern about how Facebook's entry into the sector will affect both banking and financial institutions and consumers.
It was in March when The New York Times gave the exclusive that Facebook was preparing to launch its own cryptocurrency, dubbed Libra. In fact, according to the media, users could already have it in their possession by the end of this year or early 2020.
Libra will initially have two clear and defined functions: transactions between individuals and payments . Although it is expected that more financial services will be offered to users in the future.
in the first week of July by Moody's and S&P Global warned that this launch could accelerate the market share of electronic payments over cash and checks. The payment infrastructure is also expected to accelerate , according to analysts.
That same week, the US financial authorities requested , through a letter, the suspension of cryptocurrency due to the risks it entails for national security. The idea was to be able to evaluate the risks arising from the lack of regulatory protection for these virtual currencies, before they are put into 'circulation'.
The European Union investigates anti-competitive behaviour
At the end of August, the European Union joined the wave of petitions against Facebook . The European Commission is said to be investigating "potential anti-competitive behaviour" and the possibility that the proposed system could exclude potential competitors. The concern is said to be focused on possible restrictions to competition in the area of information that would be exchanged and the use of the data that would be collected.