Elon Musk’s social media platform X officially launched “X Money” on Monday, a new banking and financial services feature that brings the billionaire entrepreneur closer to his long-stated goal of creating an “everything app.”
Mashable reports that the new X Money service provides comprehensive banking and financial capabilities directly within the X platform, currently available exclusively to paying X Premium and Premium+ subscribers. The service integrates peer-to-peer payments, money transfers, deposit accounts, and a physical Visa debit card into the social media experience.
According to X’s announcement, X Money enables users to conduct everyday financial transactions within the app as they would with a traditional bank account. The service supports wire transfers, check mailing, bill payments, and direct deposit for paychecks. Users can also send and receive money to anyone else on the X platform. The company claims that users can receive their paychecks up to two days early through direct deposit.
A key component of the service is the X Card, a physical Visa debit card that offers three percent cash back on eligible purchases and fee-free ATM withdrawals at locations worldwide. The card integrates with digital wallet services including Apple Pay and Google Pay, allowing users to make contactless payments.
The interest rates offered differ based on subscription tier. Premium+ subscribers immediately qualify for six percent Annual Percentage Yield on their deposit accounts, while X Premium subscribers can reach the same rate after meeting Qualifying Direct Deposit requirements.
Deposit accounts are held through X Money’s banking partner Cross River Bank, which is a Member FDIC institution. This means deposits are insured up to $250,000, providing the same federal protection as traditional bank accounts.
Musk’s history with financial services predates his involvement with social media. Before acquiring what was then known as Twitter, Musk founded a payment services company called X during the early dot-com era. That company eventually merged with what became PayPal, where Musk gained extensive experience in digital payments and financial technology.
The launch of X Money represents a significant step toward Musk’s frequently stated ambition of transforming X into a comprehensive “everything app,” a concept inspired by super-apps popular in Asian markets that combine social media, messaging, payments, and various other services into a single platform. This vision has been documented by biographers and mentioned repeatedly by Musk himself since his acquisition of the platform.
Musk had previously set ambitious timelines for launching financial services on X. He stated it would “blow his mind” if the social media company failed to roll out financial services by the end of 2024. The service underwent an initial testing phase earlier this year before Monday’s official launch.
The current rollout is limited to a subset of X’s user base in the United States, with the company indicating plans to expand availability in the near future. By restricting initial access to Premium and Premium+ subscribers, X is targeting its most engaged users who already pay for enhanced features on the platform.
The integration of banking services into a social media platform represents an unconventional approach in the United States market, where financial services and social networking have traditionally remained separate. However, the model has proven successful in other markets, particularly with apps like WeChat in China, which combines messaging, social media, payments, and various other services into a single ecosystem.
Read more at Mashable here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of AI, free speech, and online censorship.