Elon Musk has confirmed that X, formerly Twitter, will be launching a payments option this year.

The billionaire businessman has previously outlined his ambitions for financial services features on the social media platform – which he wants to replace traditional banks for consumers.

In a blog Tuesday, the company officially announced that it will ‘launch peer-to-peer payments’ in 2024, as part of Musk’s continued drive to turn X into an ‘everything app’.

This move into payments means X will be competing with a whole host of online payment platforms including PayPal, Venmo, Zelle and Apple Pay.

Down the line, Musk’s plan is to turn X into a company that can replace banks like Wells Fargo and Bank of America – a platform not just for making payments, but getting loans and trading shares.

Elon Musk has confirmed that X, formerly Twitter, will be launching a payments option this year

The payments option will be ‘unlocking more user utility and new opportunities for commerce, and showcasing the power of living more of your life in one place,’ the blog read.

The company did not provide further detail as to when exactly the ‘peer-to-peer payments’ service would launch this year, information about how the transactions might work, or any plans for other financial features on the platform.

Musk previously said he wants ‘someone’s entire financial life’ to be on X, according to an audio of an October 26 company-wide meeting obtained by The Verge.

‘If it involves money. It’ll be on our platform. Money or securities or whatever,’ he reportedly said.

‘So, it’s not just like send $20 to my friend. I’m talking about, like, you won’t need a bank account.’

X is now reportedly licensed for payment processing in a dozen US states, after the company was granted money transmitter licenses in South Dakota, Kansas and Wyoming late last year.

The company has already been granted licenses in Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, according to Tech Crunch.

Musk appeared to confirm this news in an X post, commenting ‘Progress’ in response to a news article about the license acquisitions.

The billionaire has made no secret of his desire to turn X into a financial services hub, reportedly telling employees he also plans to eventually offer high-yield money market accounts, debit cards, checks, and loan services.

Musk appeared to confirm this news in an X post, commenting ‘Progress’ in response to a news article about the license acquisitions

He even renamed Twitter after his dot-com-boom-era online bank, X.com, which eventually became part of PayPal.

Instead of the ‘complex and expensive’ systems of traditional banks, he told employees, according to The Verge, that users would have ‘one balance on Twitter that can simply go positive or negative.’

For places that do not accept X payments, Musk said consumers would get a debit card tied to their balance – and even traditional checks if they want them.

It is familiar territory for Musk, who co-founded PayPal and was openly disappointed by eBay’s handling of the company when it was bought in 2002. The companies eventually split in 2015.

Billionaire owner Elon Musk previously said he wants ‘someone’s entire financial life’ to be on X

Speaking at an internal call last year, he said: ‘The X/PayPal product roadmap was written by myself and David Sacks actually in July of 2000.

‘And for some reason PayPal, once it became eBay, not only did they not implement the rest of the list, but they actually rolled back a bunch of key features, which is crazy.

‘So PayPal is actually a less complete product than what we came up with in July of 2000, so 23 years ago.’

Turning X into a digital bank directly plays into Musk’s desire to turn the social media platform, which he acquired in October 2022 for $44 billion, into an ‘everything app’ – akin to Chinese app WeChat.

WeChat is a one-stop-shop, offering instant messaging, social media, shopping and mobile payments.

Musk has courted controversy with some of his ambitions for the site – including sparking backlash in September last year by suggesting users will soon have to pay to use X.

He said users could face a ‘small monthly payment’, claiming it is the ‘only way to protect against bot accounts’.