Twitter has started applying for the necessary licenses in the US to be able to integrate payment services. This is reported by the Financial Times and adds that although a first step was taken before the takeover by Elon Musk, it was only after that that things really took off. The subsidiary “Twitter Payments” has existed since August, but Twitter only registered as a payment processor with the US Treasury Department after the Musk takeover. After that, the necessary applications were submitted in the US states. Twitter wants to complete the process within a year and then tackle foreign markets.
First steps on the way to the app for everything
Musk has previously announced that Twitter will offer financial services under his leadership, including direct transactions between users, accounts and payment cards, writes the Financial Times. This is an important part of the “Everything App X” that the US billionaire has in mind, i.e. an app for all kinds of services. At the same time, it could also become a new source of revenue for the social network, which is dealing with dramatic sales declines under Musk’s leadership. However, it is not clear whether this will work. The Financial Times points out that there’s already a lot of competition in the space in the US. In addition, the legal requirements in the financial sector are particularly strict and it could also be difficult for Twitter’s significantly shrunken workforce to meet them.
Meanwhile, Twitter has paid interest on the purchase price for the first time, reports Bloomberg. Overall, it is about 300 million US dollars, which were paid to seven banks. According to the report, they were due around January 27th. Musk took over Twitter for $44 billion in the fall, and Twitter now has to pay back some of the money itself. Musk has laid off thousands of employees to cut costs, while many advertisers have withdrawn from the platform. In some cases, Twitter no longer even pays the rent for the office space it uses, including the headquarters in San Francisco.
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