Elon Musk, the owner of the popular microblogging app X (formerly known as Twitter), wants to turn the platform into a financial service provider or a bank. Musk revealed his vision for X in the first all-hands meeting with the current CEO, Linda Yaccarino, since he took over. Addressing the employees, he said that he expects such features to roll out by the end of next year.
Musk Wants X To Offer Financial Services By 2024
Per the audio recording of the meeting obtained by The Verge, Musk says, “When I say payments, I actually mean someone’s entire financial life.” Further, the billionaire elaborates that if something involves money, it should be on the microblogging platform X, whether it is related to “money or securities or whatever.”
From what it looks like, Musk wants X to launch a new division capable of sending and receiving money for the platform’s users. This service will potentially allow users to make financial transactions without having a bank account. Our Indian readers might understand this with the example of Paytm Payments Bank, a service that lets people use UPI and keep some money in a virtual account, but it isn’t a bank per se.
X Might Offer Services Like Loans And Checks
X is working on getting licenses to act as a financial service in the United States. In November 2022, Musk proposed turning Twitter into a bank, providing services like high-yield market accounts, debit cards, loans, and checks. In the meeting, Musk mentioned that he wrote the X/PayPal product roadmap in July 2000. However, when the company merged with eBay, it rolled back a couple of critical features, implying that PayPal is a “less complete product” than what Musk planned 23 years ago.
This is another step in converting X into an everything app, which Musk mentioned earlier this year. Moreover, X wants people to rely on it for daily financial transactions. While this is possible, as people already use third-party financial services in various countries besides government-backed and private banks, it involves challenges that X and the team would have to overcome in due course.
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