How Facebook’s Libra could lead you to clean out your wallet

Once Facebook’s Libra makes it to the cryptocurrency mainstream, there may be a new threat to consumers: Their own bad spending habits.

Libra is a proposed cryptocurrency designed by Facebook and operated with a consortium of partners, including payments providers, credit card companies and consumer companies. It is set to begin in the first half of 2020.

In a Facebook white paper, the company maintains that Libra won’t be connected to a user’s data for targeted advertisements. Yet the social media giant is planning to incorporate Libra payments into its own products used by billions of people, which leads to other concerns, experts say.

“For a number of users, that ease of access for a tool that can be used for purchases and retail consumer activity could be dangerous, especially for those who already have a difficult time keeping control of their budget,” said Bruce McClary, vice president of communications for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.

Officials at Facebook did not respond to requests for comment.

More than a third of Americans reported that their spending is influenced by experiences on social media, according to Charles Schwab’s 2019 Modern Wealth Survey.

The survey, conducted in February, analyzed how 1,000 Americans manage their money.

Social media was ranked the top “bad” influence in terms of money management by survey respondents.

Libra could make it easy to overspend because it will be easy to access, said Tyrone Ross Jr., an investment advisor specializing in cryptocurrency in Woodbridge, New Jersey.

“Knowing how humans are, if it is easy to do something, they’re going to have at it,” he said.

Compared to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, Libra may be easier to use for everyday exchanges like bill paying or buying groceries, Ross said.

Libra was developed as a currency for exchange, and will be less likely to…