What ‘Calibra’ mean for Marketers?

Facebook announced it is launching a financial subsidiary in 2020 called Calibra that will include a digital wallet offered as a standalone app and built into WhatsApp and Messenger. The digital wallet will enable global users to make financial transactions using Libra, the newly formed currency powered by Blockchain technology backed by Facebook and a number of leading financial, technology and venture capital organizations, including Mastercard, Uber, PayPal and Andreessen Horowitz. Libra will be governed by the Libra Association, formed to promote adoption of the currency and developer platform.

Facebook is still in the early stages of this effort. Addressing privacy concerns, the company has said it will not share user account information or financial data with a third party without a user’s consent. Facebook also said Calibra’s user data would not be used for ad targeting on Facebook’s platforms. That doesn’t mean there won’t be implications for an advertiser. Even without using Calibra’s data for ad targeting purposes, Facebook expects its move into the cryptocurrency market will have a positive impact on ad revenue.

Marketers are paying attention to the cross-border payment capabilities Facebook’s Calibra will offer. It’s a way for Facebook to bring e-commerce into developing countries, where they don’t have stable currencies or means to pay. Whether or not Facebook will be able to drive global e-commerce within its apps via Calibra depends entirely on the success of the Libra cryptocurrency it is helping to develop.

Data privacy issues, customer trust issues, regulatory uncertainty, the absence of China and many other strict Cryptocurrencies regulated countries, other competing but more mature ‘good enough’ technologies are all great barriers that Facebook needs to overcome. Creating a way for worldwide users to engage with brands — and purchase from them regardless of their geographic location — could dramatically impact Facebook’s business model and further cement its dominance as a social platform. But, it’s not going to be smooth sailing for Facebook in the coming months.

Much is riding on the success of the Libra cryptocurrency for Facebook. But, should it succeeds, marketers are ready for the added e-commerce and customer experience possibilities it could provide. It’s a way Facebook can keep users inside of its platforms — Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp — longer, while, at the same time, increasing conversion rates for e-commerce advertisers because of the expectation will be that consumers will be checking out using the Libra coins, and it will be all one seamless experience.