According to a new story, Elon Musk’s plans to make X (formerly Twitter) into a one-stop shop with financial services have become the company’s main goal. According to The Verge, there was an all-hands-on-deck meeting today at X, where Musk gave his workers new orders: they are to add financial features to the microblogging service. The new owner of the company has an even more ambitious schedule. According to reports, the features should be ready by the end of next year.
There are already some financial services and tools built into social media sites. For example, Messenger added the ability to send money years ago. But Musk allegedly wants to take things to the next level by letting X replace your bank account. Though we have yet to determine how it will do this, if history is any guide, Musk will probably post his plans on his X account in the next few days.
Would you give X your bank information?
Musk hasn’t kept his plans a secret, and they’re not just to try to replace your bank account. In an ideal world, the social media mogul would like to transform the business that used to be known as Twitter into an “everything app.” People also call these platforms “super apps.” The most well-known is WeChat in China. They let you do almost everything on your phone, like make calls, send and receive messages, schedule meetings, play games, order food, and more.
Early in August, word spread that Twitter (now X) was thinking about adding a place to trade stocks. That move wasn’t a surprise since Musk began discussing his plans to become a banker soon after he bought Twitter. They say that in November 2022, the company’s new owner met with Twitter workers to talk about his idea. He reportedly called adding payments a “transformative opportunity.” When he talked about the system at the time, The Verge said it would have debit cards, quick money transfers, and even loans.
Many people disagree with the idea, just like with Musk himself. Many have said they would keep X or its owner’s personal financial information private. Others have been more critical, saying that it would be hard to start a service like WeChat in the U.S. and Europe because of the laws and rules that are already in place.
