X's payment services plans could expand beyond the digital realm, new data suggests. According to research from mobile app intelligence company App Sensa, the X app has been updated over the past few weeks with several references related to physical debit cards that can be customized with the X username.
Dozens of strings of X app code can be found on a new debit card, such as checking delivery status, activating cards after arrival, reporting lost or stolen, locking cards, and setting pins.
Multiple strings contain the term “Physical_card_option” and not just the “physical” that the data describes, but merely “physical.”
Image credit: App Sensa
The news follows an announcement in January of X CEO Linda Yaccarino, the first partner of X Money Service, which will allow Visa to immediately fund X wallet accounts via Visa Direct. She explained that the new service will allow peer-to-peer (P2P) payments by connecting with a user's debit card, providing the option to transfer funds instantly to a bank account.
Yaccarino also said this would be a “many lot of” big announcements regarding the X-money that arrived this year. This suggests that X will be in a path that will compete more widely with other digital banks and payment services in the near future.
Image credit: App Sensa
X has been registering with remittance licenses across the US for over a year to support payment ventures. As of December 2023, the company had permission to process payments in 12 states. Since then, we have increased our registration to include 40 states and Washington, DC.
The X app code has other references that explain in detail how this new payment card works. For example, some strings refer to “cacheback” and others refer to “deferred debits.” It is also possible that you can cancel a virtual card independently of a physical card, and vice versa.
Furthermore, the code suggests that X may be pursuing a relationship with other partners, as both MasterCard and Amex are listed as supported payment card brands.
Image credit: App Sensa
X's owner Elon Musk has long imagined the app, previously known as Twitter, as more than a social network.
In November 2022, he shared plans to turn X into “all apps” such as payments and banks, including better support for videos and creator content. Last year, X was working on adding a payment button that will be added to the site's main navigation bar.
Interest in mask payments has grown to the co-founding of X.com, a company that later merged with online bank Condilet and became PayPal. In 2017, he re-acquired the X.com domain and rebranded Twitter as X in the summer of 2023.
X has not shared if it plans to announce X Money in addition to “later this year,” according to a previous post from Yaccarino. She recently told the Financial Times that X will offer investments and trading as part of its super app strategy.
X did not respond to requests for comment.