The already crowded digital payment space is gaining a major new entrant.
In a post from her verified account on X (the social network formerly known as Twitter), Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, said Visa will be the first partner for a solution called “X Money Account” that is planned to roll out later this year.
According to Yaccarino, X Money Account will allow users to securely and instantly fund a digital wallet that will be called X Wallet via the Visa Direct global payments network.
Users will also be able to connect X Wallet to their debit card to enable peer-to-peer payments and have the option to instantly transfer funds to their bank account. X Money Account will be supported by a new service called X Money, which according to its own verified X account is “for all your money moves.”
X does have some other existing digital commerce capabilities and collaborates with a variety of retailers, including a partnership with Beyond, the parent company of Bed, Bath & Beyond, Overstock, Zulily and other brands.
“(This is the) first of many big announcements about X Money this year,” Yaccarino said in the post.
Currently, three apps handle most digital payment activity: PayPal-owned Venmo, CashApp, and Zelle, which is jointly owned by seven U.S. banks.
In a separate post on its verified X account, Visa said it will enable U.S. X Money Account users to “fund and transfer money in real-time with their debit card.”
An anonymous source told CNBC that X Money Account will also enable creators of content on X to accept and store payments without having to use any other financial institution.
Twitter, which was acquired for $44 billion by tech entrepreneur and Tesla co-founder Elon Musk in October 2022, officially rebranded to X in July 2023 in a step toward what Musk has said is a gradual transformation to an “everything app.”
While Musk has still not publicly specified what exactly an “everything app” would do, media outlets have speculated he wants to turn Twitter into a “super app” such as the Chinese WeChat app, which provides functionality including mobile payment, messaging and social media from a single platform.
X has also been gaining traction as a political platform. While X was used for messaging by the Harris campaign and its supporters, Musk formally endorsed President Trump following the failed attempt on his life in July 2024 and regularly posted a wide variety of content promoting his election.
Trump himself (through his verified account) and many of his supporters and conservative influencers also leverage X as a tool for communicating with potential voters. The platform has been cited by many experts as a crucial element in the president’s social media strategy.
