Elon Musk is close to launching a new banking and payments platform as part of his plan to transform X into an “everything app”, according to reports.
A limited roll out of the X Money finance feature is expected in the coming days, Bloomberg reported, though regulation hurdles still remain.
X has already acquired licences 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 will reportedly include “competitive perks”, including a savings account offering 6 per cent interest, and 3 per cent cashback on some 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 to 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 to X could make it “the biggest financial institution in the world”.
X is still yet to secure the necessary licenses in several key states, including Massachusetts and New York, meaning any roll out of the service could be fragmented.
US Senator Elizabeth Warren, who serves on the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, outlined concerns surrounding the X Money app in a letter to Mr 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 criticised by policymakers for “systemic” issues related to the circulation of child sexual abuse material.
The Independent has reached out to X for comment.
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