Mastercard, eBay, Visa and Stripe join PayPal in Facebook Libra exodus

Facebook’s Libra association is leaking members like a sieve. Last week, PayPal exited the organisation. Today, the Financial Times reports that more members have chosen to Lexit rather than hang around. These include Mastercard and Visa, as well as eBay, Stripe and Mercado Pago.

“We will continue to evaluate and our ultimate decision will be determined by a number of factors, including the Association’s ability to fully satisfy all requisite regulatory expectations,” A Visa spokesperson told the Financial Times on Friday. Another eBay spokesperson noted that the firm would rather focus on its own payments experience for now. Of course, with PayPal and eBay being co-owned, it was only a matter of time till the auction site was pulled away from Libra as well.

Much like PayPal, the motive seems to be a fear of increased regulatory scrutiny on the business of individual members, as well as a concern of the viability of the project in the long term.

Although exiting for the meantime, these firms aren’t entirely closing the door. Stripe says it’ll be open to joining Libra when it’s progressed to a later stage. In other words, that may be code for: “Show us the results and then we’ll hop on board. Adios till then”.

Source: Financial Times