X launches digital banking service 'Money' for select US users

Social media platform X has launched its digital banking service, 'Money', for select users in the United States, as part of owner Elon Musk's push to build an "everything app".

The new service provides banking and financial services for paying X Premium and Premium+ subscribers.

According to details shared by the company, X Money offers instant peer-to-peer transfers, high-yield savings, cashback on debit card purchases and other banking features.

X Money enables users to send, receive and request money instantly from other X users without fees or transaction limits.

The service also offers annual percentage yields (APY) of up to 6% for eligible subscribers, early direct deposits, free ATM withdrawals and a debit card with 3% cashback on eligible purchases.

The platform said users can receive their salary deposits up to two days before their scheduled payday through direct deposit and access funds through virtual or physical debit cards backed by Visa's Zero Liability Policy for unauthorised transactions.

X said security features include passkey-based authentication, custom transaction limits and user-controlled authentication requirements for payments.

It said that card transactions are protected through Visa's fraud prevention and risk management systems.

The company said deposits are held at Cross River Bank, a member of the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

While X Payments LLC itself is not an FDIC-insured bank, customer deposits are eligible for FDIC insurance through its banking partner.

The company also said customers are covered by a cash sweep programme offering aggregate FDIC insurance of up to USD 10 million.

The service is currently available only to select users in the US and will be expanded in phases.

Eligibility criteria

To open an X Money account, users must be at least 18 years old, reside in the US, have a verified US phone number, maintain an X account in good standing and complete identity verification, including providing their legal name, Social Security Number and residential address in line with US financial regulations.