X Chat’s new standalone app isn’t the only service X is testing this week. The company is now inviting select users to its X Money payments service, which was previously tested internally among X employees. Instead of a typical rollout, X owner Elon Musk partnered with William Shatner to invite people into the beta in exchange for a $1,000 donation to Shatner’s charity supporting children and veterans.
On X, Shatner has been sharing information about X Money and its beta invites, made available via an online auction. Musk reshared one of Shatner’s posts, simply stating “X Money,” and later added, “This will be big.”
The auction was conducted with Musk’s approval after Shatner received a $42 payment from Musk via the X Money app—a playful reference to “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” X offered 42 invites to those who donated in the auction.
Auction winners will receive a notification and see a link to X Money appear in the app, offering them early access and a metal X Money debit card with their username from Visa, supporting person-to-person payments.
Adding X Money is part of Musk’s vision to transform the network into an “everything app,” encompassing features like messaging, payments, content, subscriptions, and video.
Screenshots by Shatner show the X Money interface with tabs for Account, Rewards, and Activity, alongside buttons for deposits, sending money, and requests. Users can set up direct deposits for APY, as high as 6.00%. User deposits are held by Cross River Bank, FDIC insured up to $250,000 per person.
While X Payments isn’t an FDIC-insured bank, it has gained money transmitter licenses in over 40 U.S. states, with a limited beta expected soon and plans to expand globally.
Currently, with X Chat, X is testing a standalone app for messaging. X Money might eventually have its own app to compete with Venmo, PayPal, and Cash App.
Musk’s interest in payments dates back to founding X.com in 1999, later part of PayPal. After acquiring Twitter in October 2022, he renamed it X, paying homage to his origins.