Elon Musk says X payments will eliminate need for bank account by end of 2024

Twitter/X owner Elon Musk revealed new details of his planned payment services during an all-hands staff meeting, as reported by The Verge on Oct. 26.

Musk said the new feature will cover almost all areas of finance, stating:

“When I say payments, I actually mean someone’s entire financial life. If it involves money, It’ll be on our platform. Money or securities or whatever. So, it’s not just like send $20 to my friend. I’m talking about, like, you won’t need a bank account.”

Though Musk suggested that X will cover almost all areas of finance, he did not state that it will integrate new cryptocurrency features. However, the app already includes certain crypto features, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum tipping and NFT profile picture support.

Musk otherwise said that the company is waiting on approvals for its payment features and said that this process should be complete in the coming months. X secured money services licenses in various U.S. states this summer, including in July and August. The company has obtained licenses in nine states, according to current data.

Executives suggested that payment features will arrive in 2024. X CEO Linda Yaccarono suggested that the feature will become a “full opportunity” by that time, while Musk said that it would “blow [his] mind” if it is not introduced by the end of next year.

Musk has greater ambitions for X

Elsewhere on the call, Musk noted that his company is “rapidly transforming” what was once Twitter into an everything app. He said that he intends for X to surpass China’s WeChat app. That app similarly includes payment and other features alongside its social media network but does not have an equivalent outside of China.

Musk also said that X sees “monster numbers” regarding usage, including 500 million posts and 100 billion impressions per day. He also said expects creator payouts to “increase significantly” and said that creator numbers have already increased ten-fold.

Musk wants to expand X’s social features to include job recruitment and dating and extend X’s video features by integrating the app with TVs. He praised the platform’s community fact-checking system, introduced in early October.

The call took place on Oct. 26, 2023, roughly marking the first anniversary of Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in 2022. Musk rebranded Twitter to X in July 2023.