Platform X, Gets Money Sender License In Pennsylvania

JAKARTA - Social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter and owned by Elon Musk, is getting closer to offering a payment feature after obtaining a license to send money from the 13th state of the United States this week.

The approval from Pennsylvania, which took place on Monday, December 11, according to a public licensing database, has never been reported before. This gives platform X the ability to facilitate money transfers and paves the way for companies to allow users to send money to each other, similar to PayPal's Venmo.

Since acquiring Twitter in October 2022, Musk has said that he dreams of reshuffling the company into a "application for everything" similar to a popular Chinese app, WeChat, which allows users to send messages while ordering taxis or paying merchants.

Musk told X employees that users should be able to do their "all financial life" on this platform. He also expects the new feature to be "disbursed by the end of next year," according to an October report from The Verge.

To offer payment services to users across the US, X will require approval from each state. "This is a process that can take up to 18 months and cost several million dollars," said Aaron Klein, a fellow senior focused on financial technology and regulation at the Brookings Institution.

Other states that have approved X for licenses for money senders include Arizona, Georgia, Wyoming, and Maryland.

This move towards payment could help X diversify its business outside of digital advertising, which has been in trouble since Musk bought Twitter. Some major advertisers dismissed spending or left the platform after Musk last month agreed with users X voicing antisemit conspiracy theories.

Musk's controversial statement history and an unexpected decision on X means gaining user confidence and financial regulators will be "the biggest problem" for X's push into payments.

"The financial industry is doing a lot of detailed work. This doesn't look suitable for Musk's way of running his business," said Sabrina Howell, professor of financial association at New York University Stern School of Business.

While X declined to comment on the statement.

A US state official, who did not wish to be named, said his territory was in the process of reviewing the license app for the sender of the money X. Recent news about Musk and X is being considered as states review the app, the official said.

"X has had difficulties since Musk took over... it's hard to see network apps, which, in some ways have decreased, have switched to new fields," said Aaron Klein of Brookings Institution.

The company obtained its first state remittance license in New Hampshire in June, but Twitter has started work to apply for several states before its acquisition by Musk, according to two former employees who did not wish to be named for covert work.

Twitter's initial strategy at the time was to apply for a license in a state that had relatively easy requirements. It will then pursue approval in states such as New York and California which are expected to have a stricter review process, said one former employee.

During a live audio session on the platform last year, Musk said he also wanted the company to eventually offer debit cards and money market accounts.

"Detaining user money will require X to have a bank license, other regulatory barriers, or partnerships with existing banks," said Howell of NYU Stern.