Elon Musk’s pursuit to transform X into an everything app is slowly but steadily taking shape. Earlier this year, the multi-billionaire announced X Money, a financial service within the social media app. Now, a few months after the initial announcement, the service is rolling out to certain users. The paying ones, to be specific.
As detailed in an X post announcing the launch, X Money is available for the platform’s Premium and Premium+ subscribers in the US. Of course, the user must also be over the age of 18 to access the banking service, which allows users to send, receive, and request money across X without any transaction fees or transfer limits.
Customers get a deposit account, peer-to-peer payments, as well as a Visa debit card within the app. This card, predictably called the X Card, is available digitally and can be added to Apple Pay via Apple Wallet. Users also have the option to get a physical metal version, which can be personalised with their username. Among the other perks include up to 6% APY, 3% cashback bonuses, and early direct deposit.
That said, it is worth noting that certain benefits depend on the user’s X subscription tier. Premium+ subscribers can immediately earn the 6% interest rate on balances, while regular Premium users must first meet certain direct deposit requirements. Furthermore, the cashback doesn’t apply to all services.
Deposits are held at Cross River Bank and are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) up to US$250,000 (~RM1 million). Furthermore, the platform’s cash sweep program spreads balances across multiple partner banks, raising insurance protection to up to US$10 million (~RM40 million) per account.
For now, there is no indication that X Money will expand outside of the US. The service would first have to gain approval from the relevant authorities first. Aside from acquiring the proper licence, X Money has to prove that it can securely handle financial data at scale before it can operate in Malaysia. Whether or not the platform is trustworthy enough remains to be seen, although Musk’s handling of X and the Grok chatbot doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
(Source: X Money via X)
