Facebook is renaming Calibra, the digital wallet it hopes will one day be used to access the Libra digital currencies, Novi. In a blog post the company said that the new name was inspired by the Latin words “novus” and “via,” which mean “new” and “way,” respectively. Novi Financial is the new name of the Facebook subsidiary that will develop the company’s digital wallet.
A new name is just the latest in a series of changes Facebook has made to its digital currency plans, which have faced intense regulatory pressure since their announcement last June. Although Facebook initially said that there would be a single Libra coin pegged to a collection of national currencies, it now plans to have multiple digital coins pegged to individual currencies in addition to a combined Libra currency. Novi’s website says that, initially, these could include currencies like the US dollar, the British pound, and the Euro.
“Novi was inspired by the Latin words ‘novus’ for ‘new’ and ‘via’ for ‘way,'” Facebook said in a statement. “Novi’s new visual identity and design represent the fluid movement of digital currencies. We’ve also included a nod to the Libra icon in the brand logo to underscore our commitment to the Libra network.”
Along with its promise of around-the-clock, chat-based customer service, Facebook said that all Novi customers will be verified using government-issued ID and that “fraud protections will be built in throughout the app.”
A new name is one thing, but the challenges of setting up a digital currency aren’t going anywhere. Facebook did not announce a launch date for Novi or Libra as part of today’s announcement, noting only that an “early version” of Novi will be launched when the Libra network is available.
