X and Visa Join Forces: A Leap into Financial Services
The social network X, owned by Elon Musk, has announced a strategic partnership with Visa to develop its upcoming financial product, X Money. This collaboration will utilize Visa Direct for real-time money transfers, which will form the backbone of the X Money wallet, according to TechCrunch.
This partnership aims to facilitate key financial operations, including wallet funding, debit card integration for transactions, and users' ability to transfer money back to their bank accounts.
CEO of X, Linda Yaccarino, announced the partnership, marking it as the first of “many significant announcements” related to X Money this year. Currently, the company is just announcing the collaboration and has not yet launched the product.
Elon Musk has long envisioned transforming X into a financial platform. Shortly after acquiring Twitter, which was later rebranded to X, he outlined plans to integrate financial tools, such as supporting content creators (tips) and offering high interest rates for users who hold funds on X.
Since then, X has been actively obtaining licenses for money transfers in various states across the U.S. through its subsidiary, X Payments. As of now, the company holds licenses in over 40 states, showcasing its intentions to expand in the financial services sector.
It is worth noting that in a letter to employees, Elon Musk revealed that the X platform is currently “barely breaking even.” Meanwhile, banks including Morgan Stanley, Barclays, and Bank of America are working to sell part of the $13 billion debt associated with Musk's acquisition of the platform for $44 billion in 2022.
