Elon Musk is on the verge of introducing a new banking and payments platform as part of his vision to transform X into an "everything app," according to recent reports.
A limited rollout of the X Money finance feature is anticipated in the coming days, Bloomberg reported, though regulatory obstacles remain. X has already secured licenses in dozens of US states and announced a partnership with Visa last year to support a digital wallet and peer-to-peer payments service.
The financial services platform is expected to include competitive perks such as a savings account offering 6% interest and 3% cashback on certain transactions.
The tech billionaire outlined his ambition to create an everything app shortly after renaming Twitter to X in 2023, several months after acquiring the social media platform. "Twitter was acquired by X Corp both to ensure freedom of speech and as an accelerant for X, the everything app. This is not simply a company renaming itself, but doing the same thing," he wrote in a post on X. "We will add comprehensive communications and the ability to conduct your entire financial world. The Twitter name does not make sense in that context." He also claimed that integrating a banking platform into X could make it "the biggest financial institution in the world."
X has yet to secure the necessary licenses in several key states, including Massachusetts and New York, meaning any rollout of the service could be fragmented.
US Senator Elizabeth Warren, who serves on the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, expressed concerns about the X Money app in a letter to Musk earlier this month. "Your failure to operate X in a safe and responsible manner does not breed confidence in your ability to safely expand into consumer finance," she wrote. Senator Warren cited scams and fraud on the platform, as well as several investigations into data privacy on X. She also noted that X has been criticized by policymakers for systemic issues related to the circulation of child sexual abuse material.
The Independent has reached out to X for comment.
