X and Visa to launch digital payment solution
The already crowded digital payment space is gaining a major new entrant as Elon Musk's X makes its first move into financial services.
In a post from her verified account on X (the social network formerly known as Twitter), CEO Linda Yaccarino said Visa will be the first partner for a solution called "X Money Account" that is planned to roll out later this year. (Visa operates largest U.S. credit network.)
According to Yaccarino, the new solution will allow users to securely and instantly fund a digital wallet that will be called X Wallet via the Visa Direct global payments network.
Users will also be able to connect X Wallet to their debit card to enable peer-to-peer payments and have the option to instantly transfer funds to their bank account. X Money Account will be supported by a new service called X Money, which according to its own verified X account is “for all your money moves.”
X already has some digital commerce capabilities and collaborations with a variety of retailers, including a partnership with Beyond, the parent company of Bed, Bath & Beyond, Overstock, Zulily and other brands.
"(This is the) first of many big announcements about X Money this year," Yaccarino said in the post.
Currently, three apps handle most digital payment activity: PayPal-owned Venmo, CashApp, and Zelle, which is jointly owned by seven U.S. banks.
In a separate post on its verified X account, Visa said it will enable U.S. X Money Account users to “fund and transfer money in real-time with their debit card.”
An anonymous source told CNBC that X Money Account will also enable creators of content on X to accept and store payments without having to use any other financial institution.
X on its way to becoming ‘everything app’?
Twitter, which was acquired for $44 billion by tech entrepreneur and Tesla co-founder Elon Musk in October 2022, officially rebranded to X in July 2023 in a step toward what Musk has said is a gradual transformation to an "everything app."
While Musk has still not publicly specified what exactly an "everything app" would do, media outlets have speculated he wants to turn Twitter into a “super app” such as the Chinese WeChat app, which provides functionality including mobile payment, messaging and social media from a single platform.
X has also been gaining traction as a political platform. While X was used for messaging by the Harris campaign and its supporters, Musk formally endorsed President Trump following the failed attempt on his life in July 2024 and regularly posted a wide variety of content promoting his election.
Trump himself (through his verified account) and many of his supporters and conservative influencers also leverage X as a tool for communicating with the public. The platform has been cited by many experts as a crucial element in the president’s social media strategy.
