Today in the Connected Economy: Twitter Teases Edit Tweet Function

Today in the connected economy, Twitter users who sign up for the Twitter Blue subscription plan could gain the ability to edit their tweets.

Also, Netflix is reportedly upping its efforts in the gaming world, while Visa Direct partners with Western Union and money movement platform Astra.

Report: Twitter Blue Subscribers May Gain Exclusive Ability to Edit Tweets

After years of pleas from users, Twitter could be giving its Twitter Blue subscribers the ability to edit their tweets.

A report by SocialMediaToday — citing an introductory screen saying “Join Twitter Blue to get early access to Edit Tweet” shared by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi — suggests that this capability looks to be launched with Twitter Blue.

Twitter users have long been the platform for an edit button, and it now looks like it will be part of the company’s paid subscription service, which is due to rise in cost from $2.99 to $4.99 per month to help the company build out new features.

Netflix to Level up Gaming

With under 1% of its customers using its gaming products, Netflix has begun increasing its efforts in that sphere, with the goal to have 50 games available before the year ends.

That’s according to a report from Financial Times (FT), which argues Netflix’s subscription model could have a major impact on mobile games, although the report also dismisses most of the titles as primarily “casual games of little interest.”

However, the report also noted that other games have begun offering more depth, while Netflix has also begun adding licensed games based on its series, such as “Stranger Things” and “The Queen’s Gambit.”

Western Union Expands Integration With Visa Direct

Western Union said it is expanding its integration with Visa’s real-time money movement network Visa Direct, a move that lets Western Union customers in the U.S. send funds in near real time to Visa debit cards in several countries.

Western Union and Visa Direct first launched their integration across Europe in more than 20 countries, letting customers transfer funds to eligible Visa debit card holders, using WU.com, the Western Union app or from many of Western Union’s retail locations in the U.S.

“Western Union and Visa share a vision for modern money movement, one that ensures cross-border payments are reliable, efficient and transparent, with convenience and the customer’s channel of choice at the center of our customer experience,” said Gabriella Fitzgerald, president of the Americas region, Western Union.

Astra Taps Visa Direct to Offer Faster Payments

Money movement automation platform Astra says it is now using Visa Direct, allowing the company to offer fast payments “to millions of its end-users who can fund cards, wallets and other accounts with their eligible debit cards.”

The payments platform lets developers add transfer functionality to their applications, and is integrated through application programming interface (API). It allows builders add payment functionality with no additional compliance, capital commitments or operational costs.

“The onboarding experience for a new user of a neobanking or marketplace application is critical and only lasts a few moments,” Astra said in a news release. “In many cases, funding a new bank account or wallet includes waiting multiple days for an ACH transfer to clear before the associated debit card can be used.”