Musk vies to turn X into super app with banking tool nearing launch

More than three years after acquiring Twitter, Elon Musk says he’s nearing his long-stated goal of turning it into an “everything app” with a new financial services tool that he pledged to launch for the public this month. 

 

X Money, a banking and payments platform built inside the social network X, is expected to make its early public access debut imminently, based on the timeframe offered by Musk last month. Early users testing the service have touted competitive perks, including 3 per cent cash back on eligible purchases and a 6 per cent interest rate on cash savings — the latter of which is roughly 15 times the national average.

 

 

Musk’s new product is also expected to offer free peer-to-peer transfers, a metal Visa debit card personalised with a user’s X handle, and an AI concierge built by Musk’s xAI startup that tracks spending and sorts through past transactions, according to reports from users with early access.

 

Musk, who first rose to prominence in Silicon Valley by co-founding PayPal Holdings Inc., sees payments as crucial to creating a so-called super app similar to social products that have flourished in China. WeChat, for example, lets users hail a ride, book a flight and pay off their credit card. 

 

If it works, X Money would sit at the intersection of social media and finance in a way no American product has attempted at this scale. However, the super-app model has yet to take off in the US. Several key details about Musk’s payments project also remain unclear. 

 

Musk is known for making bold promises and missing his own deadlines. In this case, he’s contending with regulatory headaches and delays: X Money still lacks payment licenses in several states including New York, where lawmakers have questioned whether the billionaire should be trusted with people’s money.

 

The customer rewards remain to be seen, too. Though X Money’s potential 6% savings rate would exceed rival consumer finance services from SoFi Technologies, Block and LendingClub, Musk’s company has not said whether that rate is permanent or promotional. A spokesperson for X did not respond to requests for comment.