Elon Musk is on the verge of launching a new banking and payments platform as part of his vision to transform X into an "everything app," according to recent reports. Bloomberg has indicated that a limited rollout of the X Money finance feature is expected in the coming days, though regulatory hurdles remain.
X Money Features and Partnerships
X has already obtained licenses in dozens of U.S. 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 reportedly set to include competitive perks, such as a savings account offering 6% interest and 3% cashback on certain transactions.
Musk's Vision for the Everything App
The tech billionaire first outlined his ambition to create an everything app shortly after renaming Twitter to X in 2023, several months after acquiring the social media platform. In a post on X, he wrote: "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 added, "We will add comprehensive communications and the ability to conduct your entire financial world. The Twitter name does not make sense in that context." Musk has also claimed that integrating a banking platform into X could make it "the biggest financial institution in the world."
Regulatory and Political Concerns
Despite these ambitions, 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. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who serves on the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, outlined concerns regarding the X Money app in a letter to Musk earlier this month. She stated, "Your failure to operate X in a safe and responsible manner does not breed confidence in your ability to safely expand into consumer finance." 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 faced criticism from policymakers over "systemic" issues related to the circulation of child sexual abuse material. The Independent has reached out to X for comment.
