
FinTech News
Visa Reportedly Partners with X for Upcoming X Money Platform
X (formerly Twitter) is expanding into payment options — and has brought Visa on board for the project.
About the partnership and X Money:
As CNBC reports, Visa has formed a partnership with X as the social media network continues its evolution into what owner Elon Musk has called an “everything app.” Visa is said to be the first partner of X Money — a platform that will include a digital wallet and peer-to-peer (P2P) service. CNBC notes that representatives for Visa declined to comment when asked about the development.
X’s CEO Linda Yaccarino made the announcement in a tweet, noting that Visa’s involvement will allow users to instantly fund their X Wallet using Visa Direct and transfer money to their bank account. Similarly, connecting a debit card will enable P2P payments on the platform. Yaccarino went on to say that more announcements regarding X Money will be made later this year.
The intention for X to launch a P2P service to rival the likes of PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App was first revealed last year. At the time, the company wrote, the feature would unlock “more user utility and new opportunities for commerce” and showcase “the power of living more of your life in one place.”
My thoughts:
First, I feel the need to point out a bit of irony here. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey also co-founded Block Inc. (formerly Square) — which includes the popular peer-to-peer payment app Cash App. So it’s funny to me that what was once Twitter will now launch a P2P service of its own.
With that out of the way, what do I think of X Money? While I’m not opposed to the idea and can see the appeal of using one app to do more tasks, I can’t imagine that this would truly be that much more convenient. Moreover, I could see where the convenience of this feature could also get it into trouble. After all, there are already plenty of scammers on X trying to drain money from users. So, integrating payments directly into the service seems fraught with peril. And with the CFPB also cracking down on fraud that occurs on P2P services (see: their actions against Zelle), it wouldn’t surprise me if we see a preemptive statement from the agency ahead of X Money’s launch.
[Edit: Elon Musk’s DOGE team has now effectively shut down the CFPB, so no such statement is likely]
Of course, at this time, details are pretty vague. For that reason, I’ll withhold further judgment until X Money is formally presented.