Meta's WhatsApp will allow crypto payments through Novi wallet in U.S

FILE PHOTO: A 3D printed WhatsApp logo and keyboard buttons are placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 21, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

(Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc's cryptocurrency wallet, Novi, will allow users to send and receive money through the social media giant's messaging app, WhatsApp.

The pilot program is open to a limited number of people in the United States, Novi head Stephane Kasriel said in a tweet late on Wednesday.

Using Novi does not change the privacy of WhatsApp personal messages and calls, he said.

Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook, has been working on the wallet app for several months, while scaling back its global plans for rolling out a digital currency called Diem on regulatory concerns.

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)