Twitter Payments Platform To Rival Apple Pay, PayPal; Everything Known So Far

Twitter is developing its own payments platform and has reportedly started applying for the necessary licenses in the US. According to a Financial Times report, Twitter's Director of Product Management, Esther Crawford, has already begun working on the architecture for the new payments system.

New Revenue Stream for Twitter

Ever since Elon Musk's Twitter takeover, the business mogul has been trying to expand the company's revenue streams. A few months back, the company introduced the Twitter Blue subscription that lets paying users to undo tweets, upload longer videos, change themes, and more. Back in November last year, Musk also shared Twitter's plan to introduce a payments platform.

According to the latest reports, it appears that the plan will come to fruition soon. Twitter has been applying for state licenses to launch the payments platform in the US. A few months earlier in November, the company had registered as a payments processor with the US Treasury, setting the ball rolling for the in-app payments system. It is also believed that the company is developing a vault for storing user data securely.

The report adds that the company will file for the remaining licenses shortly, and expects the US licensing to be done in a year. A source close to the publication states that once US licensing is granted, it will work on securing international regulatory approvals.

Twitter Payments Platform To Compete With PayPal, Apple Pay

Late last year, Musk detailed his plans to include a payments platform for Twitter. He stated that adding support for a creator ecosystem and paid verification will help better establish a payment system within the app. For instance, monetized videos by creators would create a cash balance that can be stored within the app. Additionally, users will be able to easily transfer money to their friends on Twitter. The company also plans to add an option to transfer it to an authenticated bank account.

Musk also shared that he might set up bank accounts offering high-interest rates on Twitter's payments platform. It could then compete with Apple's Savings Account, which is expected to offer good interest rates on high-yield accounts. Twitter could also challenge platforms like Paypal, Apple Pay, and Venmo. However, it's still too early to say if all of Musk's ideas will make it to the Twitter payments platform.