SAN FRANCISCO, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Facebook Inc. on Tuesday announced a plan to launch a new global digital currency Libra to tap into digital payments that will debut in 2020.

Facebook said it is creating a new subsidiary called Calibra to provide financial services based on Libra powered by blockchain technology to allow customers to do transactions "with the push of a button."

The digital wallet will be available in Facebook's Messenger, WhatsApp and standalone app, through which users can save, send and spend Libra in financial services at little or no cost, said Facebook.

It added that users can send Libra to almost anyone with a smartphone as easily as sending a text message.

The social media network promised to offer strong protections for Libra transactions by adopting "the same verification and anti-fraud processes that banks and credit cards use."

Sources said Facebook has partnered with 28 companies including Uber, PayPal and Mastercard to form the Libra Association, an independent not-profit organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, that governs the new digital cryptocurrency.