Musk hopes to make X a super app with banking tool debut
More than three years after acquiring Twitter, Elon Musk states he is approaching his long-held ambition of transforming it into a “everything app” with a new financial services tool that he has promised to unveil for the public this month. X Money, a banking and payments platform integrated within the social network X, is anticipated to launch its early public access shortly, according to the timeline provided by Musk last month. Initial users evaluating the service have praised its attractive benefits, such as 3 percent cash back on qualifying purchases and a 6 percent interest rate on cash savings — the latter being approximately 15 times higher than the national average.
According to reports, Musk’s new product is anticipated to provide free peer-to-peer transfers, a metal Visa debit card personalized with a user’s X handle, and an AI concierge developed by Musk’s xAI startup that monitors spending and organizes past transactions. Musk, who first gained recognition in Silicon Valley by co-founding PayPal Holdings Inc., views payments as essential to developing a super app akin to the social products that have thrived in China. WeChat, for instance, enables users to hail a ride, book a flight, and pay off their credit card. If successful, X Money would occupy a unique position at the crossroads of social media and finance, a feat no American product has endeavored to achieve on this scale.
Nevertheless, the super-app model has not yet gained traction in the US. Several key details regarding Musk’s payments project also remain ambiguous. Musk has a reputation for making ambitious commitments and failing to meet his own timelines. In this situation, he faces regulatory challenges and setbacks: X Money still does not possess payment licenses in multiple states, including New York, where legislators have raised concerns about whether the billionaire can be trusted with the public’s finances.
The customer rewards are yet to be determined. While X Money’s potential 6% savings rate surpasses those offered by competing consumer finance services such as SoFi Technologies, Block, and LendingClub, Musk’s company has yet to clarify whether this rate is permanent or merely promotional. A representative for X declined to provide a comment when approached for a response.
