Elon Musk and X CEO Linda Yaccarino reveal plans to make X a financial center, introducing new functionalities by end of 2024.
Elon Musk has declared his intention to transform X—previously known as Twitter—into a comprehensive financial center. Musk and X CEO Linda Yaccarino reportedly informed staff members during a meeting on October 26 that new functionality would be available by the end of 2024.
These advancements are consistent with Musk’s plan to turn X into the next big app, similar to China’s WeChat, which allows users to pay bills and send money to each other. X is still working to obtain licenses for money transmission across the country. According to Musk, his ultimate objective is to replace existing banks’ services with a broad variety of financial offerings.
“I actually mean someone’s entire financial life when I say payments,” Musk reportedly stated, as obtained by The Verge through an audio recording of the discussion. Money-related transactions will take place on our platform. Cash, stocks, or anything else. It’s not as simple as sending $20 to a pal. I mean, you won’t even require a bank account.
According to Daniel Keyes, Senior Analyst for Merchant Services at Javelin Strategy & Research, “Musk’s plans for X would see X join the race to serve as a financial super app that consumers turn to for all of their financial needs.” “Yet X will struggle to establish itself as a financial hub given that it will be entering the financial market from scratch while rivals have been providing a wide range of financial services for years.”
“It’s also unclear how many customers will be willing to trust X enough to give the company access to their financial information, which will be essential for this initiative to succeed.”
The Super App’s Ascent
Super applications are becoming more and more popular as customers prioritize ease and efficiency when making payments. They provide a means of carrying out several tasks on a single, integrated platform.
The idea of offering banking, shopping, and other services all in one application, as is done in Asia, is still somewhat of a foreign concept to the West, but this may be starting to change. Uber just released a feature on its app that lets users schedule events like dinner reservations and live performances.
With financial lending integrated into its apps, Meta intends to dabble in the financial industry. Lending partners’ discussions have already occurred. Furthermore, PayPal introduced in-app shopping tools, a savings account, and bill payments in an effort to simplify the process of juggling several financial and shopping apps.
Regulators have already tightened their grip on fintech companies in the midst of all these strategic and ambitious attempts. The disclosure of business strategies by major digital companies has already been mandated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It’s unclear how many of these upcoming American super applications will be given the opportunity to grow.
