The Australian Privacy Commissioner is cautioning Facebook to learn from its mistakes and explain exactly how it will protect people's financial information when it launches its own cryptocurrency.

Key points: Facebook says its new cryptocurrency company, Libra, will allow money to be sent the same way as a text message

Facebook says its new cryptocurrency company, Libra, will allow money to be sent the same way as a text message Australia is one of seven countries asking Facebook to explain how people's financial data would not be shared without consent

Australia is one of seven countries asking Facebook to explain how people's financial data would not be shared without consent The Privacy Commissioner says the company needs to 'learn from its mistakes' before launching Libra in 2020

The social media giant and a consortium of partners are set to launch the new global digital currency called Libra next year, but Australia is one of many countries demanding the fine print now.

Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk said there was a significant risk with Facebook's involvement in Libra as it has access to such a vast supply of personal information.

The digital wallet provider, called Calibra, is a subsidiary of Facebook and there is concern that the data it will collect, such as one's transaction history, could be passed back to Facebook and vice versa.

Facebook has vowed there would be no swapping of information with Calibra unless consent is obtained, but Ms Falk said they need to see proof of that promise.

"Facebook needs to move away from the mantra of moving fast and breaking things," she said.

"It needs to show that it has learnt from the past … we want to know how that personal information will be protected."

A mock-up of what Facebook's Calibra digital wallet could look like. ( ABC News: Facebook )

Australia is joined by privacy regulators from the UK, US, Canada, the European Union, Albania and Burkina Faso in the call for greater transparency around Libra.

"Given the current plans for a rapid implementation of Libra and Calibra, we are surprised and concerned that this further detail is not yet available," a joint statement to Facebook from the regulators said.

"Once the Libra Network goes live, it may instantly become the custodian of millions of people's personal information."

Ms Falk said the public has to be sure consent will be fully informed and freely given.

"Individuals really need to be given the details on this so they can decide whether or not they'll engage with the product and will they really be able to exercise choice and control," she said.

Last year Facebook was hit with shocking revelations of data misuse in which it was alleged the company inappropriately shared information to the now-defunct political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica.

The scandal, which ended with a record settlement, forced Facebook to give more control to users over third-party information sharing.

Ms Falk said at this stage she is not objecting to the idea of Libra, but said Facebook needed to show it can meet community expectations from the outset.

"This is an opportunity to show to the 17 million monthly Australian users of Facebook how it's going to secure and protect personal information, so we will get that information and go from there."

Facebook launched the Libra network in June with the aim of furthering financial inclusion and helping what they estimate to be 1.7 billion people around the world without bank accounts.