Visa and MasterCard are reconsidering whether to support Facebook's Libra

Visa and MasterCard may reconsider their support for Libra - Facebook's digital currency, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The financial partnership in Facebook's venture does not want to attract attention from regulators, and refuses to respond to Facebook's request to publicly support the project, sources familiar with the matter said. Libra policy executives, representatives of 24 venture companies, are expected to meet in Washington tomorrow, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Last week, Reuters reported that Facebook could delay Libra's launch due to concerns raised by regulators around the world that digital currency will hurt traditional currencies and sovereignty of states. Bloomberg reported that PayPal and Stripe had not yet decided whether to officially join the venture. 

"Legitimate concerns"

David Marcus, who oversees the Libra Project on Facebook, wrote in a tweet on Twitter in response to a Wall Street Journal report that he is unaware of specific plans by companies not to support the venture. "I can tell you that we are addressing calmly and confidently the legitimate concerns that have arisen following the venture that will bring digital currencies to the forefront." Libra policy executives, representatives of 24 venture-backed companies, are expected to meet in Washington tomorrow, 

An unfair advantage?

World regulators have been attacking Facebook since announcing the venture in June 2019. Bruno Le Maria, France's finance minister, said Libra should not be allowed to operate in the EU. Libre's founders testified before various congressional committees in the U.S. The authority responsible for competitiveness in the European Commission sent questions to Facebook as part of an investigation it is conducting to determine whether Libra has an unfair advantage over competing service providers.