Utah has granted a money-transmitter license to Elon Musk’s X, previously Twitter. X’s license lets users send money like PayPal’s Venmo.
Musk’s Twitter, now X, has received a money-transmitter license from Utah As X considers payment integration, Utah is the 15th state in the US to grant approval.
On Friday, Utah awarded X a money-transmitter license, allowing it to function like PayPal’s Venmo. This license lets users transmit money to each other on the platform.
The expansion into payment services underscores X’s strategy to diversify beyond digital advertising. After Musk took charge, major sponsors left the platform owing to problematic situations.
Musk was criticized last year for agreeing with an X user’s antisemitic conspiracy theory. This caused advertisers to stop using the platform. Musk’s vulgar comment about the brands at a New York Times DealBook event escalated the situation.
Musk has said he wants to turn Twitter into a “everything app” like WeChat since buying it in October 2022. This concept goes beyond communications to include taxi hailing and merchant payments.
License Approval Extension
X has received state permission before. Last June, it received its first New Hampshire money-transmitter license. It then got Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, and Michigan approval.
Conclusion
Utah is the 15th state to grant a money-transmitter license to Elon Musk’s X. The social media platform earlier called Twitter’s license lets users send money like PayPal’s Venmo. For X to diversify beyond digital advertising, this move is strategic. X was approved by New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, and Michigan. The growth of license approval is strategic for X.
