Elon Musk’s X has announced a partnership with Visa to integrate its services into X Money, allowing users to link their debit cards to send money to each other and transfer funds instantly to bank accounts.
Linda Yaccarino, the Chief Executive Officer of X Corp, announced Visa as the first partner for the upcoming X Money Account, highlighting its features.
“Another milestone for the Everything App: @Visa is our first partner for the @XMoney Account, which will debut later this year, allows for secure + instant funding to your X Wallet via Visa Direct, connects to your debit card allowing P2P payments. Option to instantly transfer funds to your bank account. First of many big announcements about X Money this year,” she stated.
Visa becomes the first major partner in Musk’s plan to integrate payments into X’s evolving ecosystem.
Everything app
Elon Musk has long envisioned transforming X (formerly Twitter) into an “everything app,” integrating a wide array of services, including messaging, social networking, and financial transactions.
- In October 2023, Musk expressed his ambition for X to become a central hub for users’ financial activities. He further emphasized that the platform would offer comprehensive financial services, aiming to eliminate the need for traditional bank accounts.
- Musk’s broader goal is to turn X into a one-stop platform for a variety of services, including online shopping, peer-to-peer money transfers, and even in-store purchases.
However, X faces stiff competition from established payment services like PayPal’s Venmo, bank-backed Zelle, and Apple’s widely used Wallet service.
A payments network is considered a critical pillar for X, as Musk envisions a digital ecosystem that goes beyond social media interaction.
More insights
X Payments, has been working toward regulatory approval for its payments system since Musk took over the company in 2022.
- According to the company’s website, X Payments is now approved for money transmitter licenses in 41 states, a significant milestone in its path to becoming a full-fledged financial service provider.
- Musk has often emphasized the need for X to diversify its revenue streams beyond advertising, which has been the company’s primary source of income.
“X needs revenue other than advertising, which has historically made up the majority of sales but has slowed considerably since he took over,” the company explained.
Musk has also expressed his ambition to turn X into the largest financial institution in the world. He has publicly discussed offering users an “extremely high yield” on money stored in their X accounts.
- As part of its evolving financial ecosystem, X plans to introduce a digital dashboard on its website and mobile app.
This dashboard will serve as a centralized hub for users to manage their payment activities, including sending and receiving money, storing funds, and reviewing past transactions.
