On Tuesday, Elon Musk‘s social media platform, X, unveiled an exciting new feature: a digital wallet and peer-to-peer payment services, made possible through a partnership with Visa, the largest credit card network in the United States. This announcement was made by CEO Linda Yaccarino in a post on the platform, highlighting the significance of this collaboration.
The newly introduced service, dubbed the X Money Account, will empower users to seamlessly transfer funds between their traditional bank accounts and their digital wallets. Additionally, it will facilitate instant peer-to-peer payments, similar to popular services like Zelle and Venmo. This marks a pivotal step for X as it embarks on its journey to establish a comprehensive financial ecosystem within the social media landscape.
This initiative represents the first tangible effort by X to transition from its previous identity as Twitter, a platform Musk acquired for $44 billion in 2022. Musk has consistently articulated his vision of transforming X into an “everything app,” where users can manage their entire financial lives. This ambition aligns with his broader goal of integrating various services into a single platform.
Prior to this development, Twitter, under the leadership of Jack Dorsey in 2021, had introduced a bitcoin tipping feature that allowed users to link their cryptocurrency wallets and receive payments in Bitcoin, the leading digital currency. However, establishing X as a money service business in the U.S. has proven to be a complex endeavor, requiring navigation through a challenging regulatory landscape.
For over a year, Musk and his team have been diligently working to secure the necessary licenses for X. As stated on its official website, X Payments LLC has successfully obtained licenses in 41 states and is registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a crucial step in complying with financial regulations.
The X Money service is anticipated to launch in the first quarter of the upcoming year, with expectations of forming additional partnerships with financial institutions. According to a source familiar with the matter, one of the primary applications of X Money will be to enable content creators on the platform to accept payments and manage their funds independently, without reliance on external financial institutions.
In a meeting with advertisers in November 2022, Musk hinted at the potential for the payments product to evolve into offering banking features, such as a high-yield money market account, further expanding the financial capabilities of the platform. This vision underscores Musk’s commitment to creating a multifaceted financial service that integrates seamlessly with the social media experience.
