Twitter may offer a native payment system

Twitter may have its own payment system. Elon Musk thinks big, very big for the web.

In 2021, Twitter launched a built-in donation feature to allow users to send money to creators, but it must be linked to a third-party payment processor to work. If Elon Musk’s vision for his network becomes a reality, Twitter may soon have its own payment system.

Twitter may get its own payment system

The new owner and acting CEO discussed his plans for the platform in a Spaces Q&A format for advertisers. Among the various things he revealed would be the ability for users to connect their bank accounts to Twitter to send money. Of course, it will be a long time before such a feature goes live if it sees the light of day, but The New York Times confirms that the company has filed a request to be able to process payments with Financial Crimes. Ministry of Finance Enforcement Network (FinCEN) last week.

Elon Musk thinks big, very big for the web

In the discussion, Elon Musk mentioned a feature in relation to the creators. He explained the need for the site to enable monetization for creators to encourage them to publish their work on the platform. “Now we can say: OK, you have a positive balance in your account, do you want to send money to someone else on Twitter?” He also discussed how users would be able to withdraw money from Twitter by linking their bank account, offering a system similar to PayPal, which he helped fund. The company could even offer an “extremely attractive account”as well as credit and debit cards if things go well.

But all this is just one of the novelties provided for the network. Twitter Blue’s $8/month subscription, which offers users access to instant verification, was one of the first changes implemented after the takeover. Twitter will still mark government agencies, celebrities, editors and other public figures with a second “official”label unless Elon Musk changes his mind, but the blue tick is now reserved for paid followers.