Anika Begay
X (formerly Twitter) appears to be making progress with its future payments system, moving closer to Elon Musk’s vision of turning X into an “app for everything.”
According to a recent discovery by app researcher Nima Owji, the company is working on adding a “Payments” button to the navigation bar below the bookmarks tab. Owji, who made the discovery yesterday, told TechCrunch that he found references to new payment features, such as “transactions, balance, and transfer.”
When Musk initially purchased the social networking app formerly known as Twitter, he envisioned a platform where users could deposit money into their X accounts, send payments to other users, and potentially access high-yield money market accounts.
The latest findings tell us that the launch of a payments service is likely imminent, which is in line with Musk’s previous target of mid-2024, which he told Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood during an interview on X Spaces in December.
Additionally, the company has made progress in securing money transmitter licenses, which allow it to conduct money transfers in the United States. Last week, X Payments (a wholly-owned subsidiary of X) received a license in North Dakota, bringing the total number of states to 33. In July, it was approved in Alabama, California, and the District of Columbia. Others include Illinois, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia, among others.
With X facing challenges in monetizing through advertising, the payment service is the company’s attempt to find an alternative source of revenue. On Tuesday, the company just filed an antitrust lawsuit against advertising groups over an advertiser boycott that has caused significant financial losses for X.
