Elon Musk's X working on physical debit card as part of new ‘X Money' venture: Report
Following its rebranding, most people now associate 'X' with the Elon Musk-owned social media platform. However, as per findings from AppSensa (a mobile app intelligence firm), the X app has been updated with new code strings, referencing a physical debit card, customisable with X usernames. This comes as part of an upcoming venture called X Money.
Some code strings have the words 'physical_card_option', indicating both a potential physical card, as well as it being an option, according to a report by TechCrunch.
This is a notable development for X Money, after CEO Linda Yaccarino announced in January this year that it is partnering with Visa to enable secure, instant funding to the user's X Wallet via Visa Direct, alongside enabling peer-to-peer (P2P) payments.
Yaccarino had hinted at bigger announcements about X Money throughout the year. In order to support the venture, X (as X Payments LLC) has taken money transmitter licences in 32 US states till date, as per NMLS Consumer Access. It has also increased its registrations to 41 US states as well.
Other code uncovered by Appsensa indicates potential cashbacks, deferred debit, theft indication, and cancellation of either the user's virtual or physical card. Based on the code, it seems that the virtual and physical cards are independent of each other.
Another noteworthy aspect is the potential links to other brands. While Visa is the only brand currently confirmed to be working with X, the code indicates links to Mastercard and Amex as payment card brands supported by the platform.
This development also shows progress in X owner Elon Musk's plan in November 2022 to make it into an 'everything app', and hinted at the addition of payments and banking within the app. Since Musk's 2022 takeover, the platform is said to have alienated many users and advertisers over reports of rising hate speech and misinformation.
In 2024, app researcher Nima Owji spotting the addition of a 'Payments' button in the in-app navigation bar.
In a recent Financial Times interview, Yaccarino said that X Money would be offering investments and trading within the app. However, with the last official reference to the release date being Yaccarino's post on January 28 announcing the partnership with Visa, it is still unclear when X Money will be officially launched.
Other social media giants, such as Facebook parent Meta, have added shopping, games and even dating features. Consumers now have different platforms at their disposal for communications, payment services, entertainment and more.
(This article has been curated by Purv Ashar, who is an intern with The Indian Express)
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