Elon Musk's X could launch a physical card with X Money: Report

Economic Times

22-06-2025

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X's foray in the financial technology space may soon include physical payments , TechCrunch reported, citing recent discoveries from mobile app intelligence firm AppSensa. The firm has identified new code strings in the X mobile app over the past several weeks, pointing to the development of a customisable physical debit card tied to a user's X handle.These backend code updates reference a variety of card-related functions, such as tracking the shipping status of the debit card, activating it upon delivery, reporting it as lost or stolen, locking the card, setting a personal identification number (PIN), and more. Specific terms like 'physical_card_option' and 'physical' appear multiple times throughout the code, strongly indicating the possibility of a physical card.This revelation comes on the heels of X CEO Linda Yaccarino 's January announcement that Visa would be the first official partner for X Money , a new service enabling users to load their X Wallet via Visa Direct instantly. The platform is designed to support peer-to-peer payments, link with users' debit cards, and facilitate instant bank transfers.Yaccarino also emphasised that this partnership with Visa marks just the beginning of a series of major developments for X Money expected throughout 2025. Collectively, these moves suggest that X is positioning itself to compete more directly with established digital banks and payment platforms.To prepare for its entry into financial services, X has been steadily acquiring money transmitter licenses across the United States. By December 2023, the company had secured approvals in twelve states. That number has now risen to 40 states plus Washington, D.C., marking significant progress toward national coverage.Additional code unearthed in the app further suggests how the payment system might function. References to features such as 'cashback' and 'deferred debit' imply that users could benefit from spending incentives or choose when their transactions are debited. There are also indications that users will have the ability to manage virtual and physical cards independently, including the option to cancel one without affecting the other.Notably, the code includes mentions of MasterCard and American Express, suggesting that X may be in talks to broaden its payment network beyond Visa. Elon Musk , the owner of X, has consistently framed the platform as more than a social media service. Since acquiring Twitter and rebranding it to X in mid-2023, Musk has described plans to build a comprehensive 'everything app' encompassing payments, banking, video, and content creation tools. That vision has roots in Musk's earlier venture, X.com — the online financial services company he co-founded in the late 1990s that eventually became PayPal. He reacquired the X.com domain in 2017, long before the Twitter acquisition.In 2024, X was spotted adding a 'Payments' option to its navigation menu, reinforcing its commitment to financial services. Yaccarino has also recently revealed that investments and trading will be part of the broader X super app strategy.Though X has not announced an exact launch date for X Money, the company has signalled that more details will come 'later this year,' as stated in Yaccarino's earlier post. X declined to comment when approached for further clarification.