Another early member of Libra, Vodafone, has pulled out. This follows the departure of PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe. Vodafone states that it will throw its support behind M-Pesa to support financial inclusion while Libra claims its governance structure will enable it to endure regardless.
Any statement about Libra governance would be easier to accept if the governance structure was established, available to the public, and transparent. Here’s more reporting on the announcement from the BBC:
“ ‘Vodafone Group has decided to withdraw from the Libra Association,’ a Vodafone spokesperson said. ‘We have said from the outset that Vodafone’s desire is to make a genuine contribution to extending financial inclusion.’
‘We remain fully committed to that goal and feel we can make the most contribution by focusing our efforts on [mobile payments platform] M-Pesa.’
Dante Disparte, head of policy and communications for the Libra Association, said: ‘Although the makeup of the Association members may change over time, the design of Libra’s governance and technology ensures the Libra payment system will remain resilient’.”
Overview by Tim Sloane, VP, Payments Innovation at Mercator Advisory Group