CNBC's Jim Cramer on Tuesday applauded Facebook for its planned efforts to give people in troubled communities greater access to the digital age of money.

The social media giant announced that it will dive into the cryptocurrency world with an initiative called Libra, a nonprofit independent of the company expected to launch in the first half of 2020. The project has support from payments companies like Visa, Stripe, PayPal and others.

"Now this is a genuinely positive thing. I have no problem with companies doing good things to improve their public image," the "Mad Money" host said. "And ultimately, I wouldn't be surprised if Libra turns out to be a very big deal for Facebook shareholders, giving you still one more reason to buy the stock if you needed any more to do so."

Facebook over has "done a lot to ruin its reputation," Cramer said. The company has faced scrutiny from both Washington, D.C. and the public over its data and privacy practices.

"I think this Libra non-profit initiative run by David Marcus — the former president of PayPal … who is a champion for privacy and, yes, a rectitude when it comes to the customer — I think this will actually work," he said.

Libra can serve as a monetary alternative for individuals in the inner city who are in "banking deserts" and others in foreign countries with unstable currencies, Cramer said. Check cashing operations have a "really pernicious influence on poorer neighborhoods," he said.

While the Libra currency will be run as a separate entity of Facebook, the social platform will launch a digital wallet app called Calibra for users to store money for free and make transactions through Messenger and WhatsApp. Facebook won't profit directly from Libra, but has set up its own digital wallet called Calibra to store and exchange coins.

"Facebook isn't trying to make any money on this, which could launch next year ... [and it's] right to show Congress that hundreds of millions of people still trust them and need them," Cramer said. "They're really desperate for better PR, who can blame them, because they don't want to be raked over the coals by legislators worldwide for the rest of their lives."

Facebook's move into cryptocurrency is a way to save face, but the program could cut banks and credit cards out of the mix, he said. That's why payments companies are getting behind it, he added.

"It would be better if Facebook didn't do anything shady to begin with, but the whole business model is premised on using your data to come up with targeted advertising," Cramer said.

Get his full thoughts here