BBC reports that Facebook is finalising plans to launch its own crypto-currency next year.

The social media giant wants to start testing its crypto-currency, which has been referred to internally as GlobalCoin, by the end of this year. The plan is to set up a digital payments system in about a dozen countries by the first quarter of 2020, BBC says.

Facebook is expected to outline plans in more detail this summer, and has already spoken to Bank of England governor Mark Carney. The company is also said to have talked about operational and regulatory issues with officials at the US Treasury.

The world's largest social network is also in talks with money transfer firms including Western Union as it looks for cheaper and faster ways for people without a bank account to send and receive money, according to the report.

With its own crypto-currency, Facebook wants to provide affordable and secure ways of making payments, regardless of whether users have a bank account.
The social networking site, which owns WhatsApp and Instagram, is hoping to disrupt existing networks by breaking down financial barriers, competing with banks and reducing consumer costs.

The project will probably see it join forces with banks and brokers that will enable people to change dollars and other international currencies into its digital coins.

Virtual currencies can be used to pay for things in the real world. Digital tokens are held in online wallets, and can be sent anonymously between users.

Crypto-currencies run on blockchain technology. A blockchain is a ledger of blocks of information, such as transactions or agreements, that are stored across a network of computers.

This information is stored chronologically, can be viewed by a community of users, and is not usually managed by a central authority such as a bank or a government