Elon Musk's X one step closer to becoming a bank, receives money transmitter license in Utah

In a significant development for Elon Musk’s social media platform X, the social media platform has obtained a money-transmitter license from the state of Utah. This marks the 15th state in the United States to grant approval to X as the company explores the integration of payment features into its platform. The approval from Utah was officially granted on Friday, as reported by the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System & Registry, an online database overseeing licensing activities. Similar to payment giants like PayPal’s Venmo, this license empowers X to facilitate money transfers, paving the way for users to send funds to one another directly through the platform. The move into payment services is seen as a strategic effort by X to diversify its revenue streams beyond its reliance on digital advertising, which faced challenges following Elon Musk’s ownership. Following Musk’s controversial agreement with an X user promoting an antisemitic conspiracy theory last year, major advertisers suspended their spending or abandoned the platform altogether. Musk’s subsequent profane comment about brands that had pulled their ads further exacerbated the situation. Since Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in October 2022, he has expressed a vision of transforming the platform into an “everything app,” akin to the popular Chinese app WeChat. WeChat allows users not only to exchange messages but also to perform various tasks, such as hailing a taxi or making payments to merchants. This recent license approval in Utah adds to X’s growing list of state money-transmitter licenses. The company had previously obtained approvals in states including New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, and Michigan. With these regulatory milestones, X is strategically positioning itself to expand its offerings and reshape its business model beyond its roots in social media and digital advertising. (With inputs from agencies)