I agree to the extent that many seem to acknowledge the transfer and remittance use case but seem to think that the market is already filled by niche players -- the fact that FB doesn't have to contend with network effects because everyone already has Messenger and/or WhatsApp is a huge deal.
It is simultaneously the case that FB can't build this and then magically be exempt from each jurisdiction's laws related to cross-border transfers. It's not like a real decentralized coin where there's no real enforcement mechanism, each government will know exactly where to knock and FB will play ball with reporting requirements, etc.
I think the right analogy is that they want to be to the rest of the world what AliPay is to China -- ubiquitious, so that it will very quickly be the case that you know everyone supports it in the world so you don't need to carry around your credit cards. Sort of like what Apple and Google Pay would want to be but with a larger incentive for retailers to adopt it as it has instantly higher penetration among users. It also might be more likely that messaging payments to a retailer becomes the norm instead of NFC (like how everyone in China pays for a restaurant check with AliPay by simply sending payment via message to the address, usually on the table in a QR code).
I'm not sure that it needs to be a blockchain but I assume it's about making the economics work by cutting out middlemen. If FB gets everyone to use this in their daily lives, however, it'll be a huge win for FB even if they don't make money on it directly -- because purchase data is very valuable, but also because you can't feasibly get rid of FB once it becomes your normal payment method.
It is simultaneously the case that FB can't build this and then magically be exempt from each jurisdiction's laws related to cross-border transfers. It's not like a real decentralized coin where there's no real enforcement mechanism, each government will know exactly where to knock and FB will play ball with reporting requirements, etc.
I think the right analogy is that they want to be to the rest of the world what AliPay is to China -- ubiquitious, so that it will very quickly be the case that you know everyone supports it in the world so you don't need to carry around your credit cards. Sort of like what Apple and Google Pay would want to be but with a larger incentive for retailers to adopt it as it has instantly higher penetration among users. It also might be more likely that messaging payments to a retailer becomes the norm instead of NFC (like how everyone in China pays for a restaurant check with AliPay by simply sending payment via message to the address, usually on the table in a QR code).
I'm not sure that it needs to be a blockchain but I assume it's about making the economics work by cutting out middlemen. If FB gets everyone to use this in their daily lives, however, it'll be a huge win for FB even if they don't make money on it directly -- because purchase data is very valuable, but also because you can't feasibly get rid of FB once it becomes your normal payment method.