More cos back away from Facebook’s Libra coin

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 12 (AFP): Facebook's digital currency alliance lost more companies on Friday amid heavy criticism from regulators around the world on the planned Libra global cryptocurrency.

Credit card giants Visa and Mastercard, online marketplace eBay and digital payments firm Stripe each announced they had changed their minds about being founding members of the Libra Association assembled to promote the digital currency.

"Mastercard has decided it will not become a member of the Libra Association at this time," the company said in an emailed statement.

"We remain focused on our strategy and our own significant efforts to enable financial inclusion around the world. We believe there are potential benefits in such initiatives and will continue to monitor the Libra effort."

A Visa spokesperson offered a similar statement, indicating the company was dropping out of the alliance but could rejoin in the future.

"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," Visa said.