WhatsApp begins payments via Novi digital wallet in US

Novi is a digital wallet that helps people send and receive money internationally -- instantly and with no fees.

"There is a new way to try the Novi digital wallet. Starting today, a limited number of people in the US will be able to send and receive money using Novi on WhatsApp, making sending money to family and friends as easy as sending a message," Stephane Kasriel, Head of Novi, Meta wrote on Twitter.

"We are still very early in the Novi pilot journey, so we made the decision to test this new entry point in one country to start and will look to extend it once we have heard from people what they think of this new experience," Kasriel added.

WhatsApp Head Will Cathcart also wrote on Twitter that users can transfer and receive money directly from their Novi digital wallet within a WhatsApp chat.

"New in the US: use your Novi digital wallet to send and receive money right within a WhatsApp chat. People use WhatsApp to coordinate sending money to loved ones, and now Novi will help them do that securely, instantly and with no fees," Cathcart wrote.

Meanwhile, Kasriel highlighted that using Novi does not change the privacy of WhatsApp personal messages and calls, which are always end-to-end encrypted.