With the increasing popularity of meta-purchases, it’s important to understand what they are and how they work. In short, meta-purchases are transactions that take place within a virtual world. This can include anything from buying virtual currency to purchasing goods or services. Meta-purchases are often made using real-world currency, and the transaction is facilitated by a third-party company. While meta-purchases have a number of benefits, there are also some potential risks to be aware of. For example, meta-purchases can be subject to fluctuating exchange rates, and there is always the possibility of fraud or scams. What about Meta Pay?
Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, is continuing to invest heavily in its version of the Metaverse. The concept is that nearly everything in the real world will also be possible in the virtual one, including the ability to make purchases. FXC Intelligence discusses this topic in its recent newsletter regarding Meta’s re-branding of Facebook Pay to Meta Pay and the role it will play in the evolving Metaverse:
At present, the newly renamed Meta Pay allows users to make purchases, send money and donate to charitable causes on Facebook in all the countries it serves, as well as Instagram in several territories and WhatsApp or Messenger in a small number of additional markets. It is not currently connected to Meta’s stablecoin-based remittance platform Novi.
Meta Pay’s rename has not yet come with additional features, although Mark Zuckerberg did outline future additions in a Facebook post, saying the company was working on making it “a wallet for the metaverse that lets you securely manage your identity, what you own, and how you pay”.
He said that the future wallet would include the ability to store digital metaverse items such as clothing, art and music, suggesting it will have the ability to store NFTs. However, he did not provide a timescale for when such features would be added.
I find it interesting that as Meta changes its branding, MetaBank, a fixture in the payments industry and Banking-as-a Service solutions, is now changing its branding. I don’t think this is a coincidence. From MetaBank’s second quarter financial results:
On March 29, 2022, the Company announced it is changing its name to Pathward Financial, Inc.™, and its bank subsidiary, MetaBank®, N.A., will be changing its name to Pathward™, N.A. Certain changes will be made immediately, with a full transition to Pathward expected by the end of this calendar year, including the launch of a new brand identity and website. The Company will continue to serve its customers under existing brand names during the transition. The Company recognized $2.8 million of pre-tax expenses related to rebranding efforts during the second quarter of fiscal 2022. The Company continues to estimate total rebranding expenses will range between $15 million to $20 million.
Overview by Sarah Grotta, Director, Debit and Alternative Products Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
