The most popular social network Facebook is one of the major companies in the technology sector which has been planning to create a kind of financial service in recent years. Meanwhile, Facebook is expecting to receive a license from the Central Bank of Ireland in the coming weeks to operate in the financial industry. According to the business daily Financial Times, the management of the social network plans to launch a mobile money transfer service and work with electronic money. The authorization would allow Facebook to operate around the European Union through a process called financial services passporting. It means that any credit institution authorized in one the EU country can provide those services in all 28 bloc’s countries. Obtaining Ireland’s license will allow Facebook to issue its own electronic money, or e-money. To start the new service operation, Facebook is required to provide a capital of at least €350,000. Besides, it has to transfer an amount equal to the amount of the issued e-money to a special account. In fact, Facebook is going to function as a full-featured payment system. The corporation opted for Europe as a starting point due to the high concentration of financial companies in Europe, the common time zone, and a unitary law. Facebook’s strategy implies foray in transfers that make millions of immigrants working in Europe to their countries of origin. Meanwhile, Facebook’s has been negotiating with developers of several start-ups working via internet, TransferWise, Moni Technologies, and Azimo. Mark Zuckerberg allegedly offered $10 million to one of Azimo’s co-founders to take charge of the money transfer division. The European market of financial services attracts a number of big players. Improving payment systems and e-money movements around the world is one of the objectives of large technology companies. Apart from Facebook, Google is also considering the new direction. So, the Bank of England has already granted Google and Vodafone, a British mobile operator, a license to issue e-money similar to that Facebook now pending in Ireland. In addition, China’s internet giant Alibaba Group is close on the heels of the U.S. high-tech corporations targeted at Europe’s e-payment sector.
