X Heralds P2P Payments With @XPayments Account

Is X getting closer to adding peer-to-peer (P2P) payments to its platform?

Elon Musk’s social media company announced plans to launch such an offering earlier this month. Now, X — formerly Twitter — has apparently set up a dedicated payments account.

The verified @XPayments account appeared on the platform sometime this month, and was the subject of a Saturday (Jan. 20) report by Cointelegraph.

According to that report, the pending launch has fueled speculation in the cryptocurrency community about whether crypto will be a part of X’s payment offering.

X said in a blog post earlier this month that launching P2P payments will bring more user utility to the app, add new opportunities for commerce and highlight “the power of living more of your life in one place.” 

“X is not just another app — it’s becoming the everything app, seamlessly uniting experiences into one interface, for everyone,” the company said in the post.

In addition to payments, X’s plans for 2024 also include increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) to power its user and advertising experience, using the technology to enhance search and improve ads. 

 Musk said last year that he expects the company to transform into a payments super app. 

“When I say payments, I actually mean someone’s entire financial life,” Musk said, per a report by The Verge last October.

“If it involves money, it’ll be on our platform,” the multibillionaire said. “Money or securities or whatever. So, it’s not just like sending $20 to my friend. I’m talking about, like, you won’t need a bank account.”

“It would blow my mind if we don’t have that rolled out by the end of next year,” Musk added.

As PYMNTS wrote last year, there are “at least some indications that consumers are interested in digital-only channels from non-bank providers to get their payments and financial services-related activities done.”

PYMNTS Intelligence research has shown that 49% of consumers are highly interested in getting online banking services from large organizations. 

“The read across here is that should platforms and services like X add dedicated accounts to their offerings, they might see increased payments activity and an onramp to loans and high-yield savings accounts,” that report said.

However, trust is a major concern, and consumers make choices based on whether they think their data is safe. Additional PYMNTS research, 59% of consumers have said they trust primary banks to keep credentials safe, compared to PayPal at 49% and FinTechs at 3%, suggesting that the platforms and digital natives have work to do before trust is established.