Unlock Editor’s Digest Lock for Free
FT editor Roula Khalaf will select your favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
X’s CEO Linda Jaccarino said users can invest and trade “quickly” on social media platforms as they outlined the push to financial services of owner Elon Musk’s quest to build “all apps.”
“You’ll be able to come to X and be able to trade your entire financial life on the platform,” Jaccarino said in an interview with the Financial Times at the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival. “And that’s whether we can pay for the pizza we shared last night, or whether we can invest and trade. That’s the future.”
She added that the company is also investigating the introduction of X-credit or debit cards soon this year.
The proposed foray into financial services is as Musk aims to model the platform he purchased in 2022 after WeChat, China’s one-stop shop for messaging, payments and shopping.
X has already said that Visa will be introducing its digital wallet and peer-to-peer payment service later this year as its first partner.
Yaccarino added Tuesday that X Money will be rolled out elsewhere before it first launches in the US, and said the service allows users to purchase goods, storage or chip creators on the platform.
“The whole commercial ecosystem and the financial ecosystem will emerge on platforms that do not exist today,” she said.
Recommended
However, with a major push towards financial services, X will be actively opening X x, including compliance with licensing and money laundering regulations.
X is struggling to return to financial health after advertisers, who make up a large part of its revenue, following Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of the platform known as Twitter. Many cited concerns about his handoff approach to moderation. That is, advertising could potentially be placed nearby, similar to the provocative use of the billionaire entrepreneur’s own platform.
Tensions are igniting between X’s leadership and advertisers. In an interview, Yaccarino opposed allegations that a social media company recently threatened the brand in a lawsuit if it failed to purchase ads on X.
She dismissed the Wall Street Journal report last week as “hearsay.” This said half a dozen brands, including Verizon and Ralph Lauren, have launched deals to buy advertisements after receiving the threat. “It’s an unknown source and a random third-party commenter,” Jaccarino said.
X filed federal antitrust lawsuits last summer against the Global Alliance of Responsible Media, a coalition of brands and advertising agencies, and several other brands. Social media companies have denounced the group of the Competition of Violation Act by coordinating “illegal boycotts” under the guise of online safety initiatives.
Over time, X added or removed some brands from the complaints. It dropped Unilever from the lawsuit after resuming advertising on social media platforms in October.
Recommended
Yaccarino said 96% of the company’s pre-acquisition ad clients have returned to the platform, and the company will reach its target of returning to the 2022 ad level, Super Soon.
Some Cannes ads and agencies told FT they are still cautious about running ads on X and are skeptical of achieving their goals in the near future. It pointed out the toxicity of content on the platform.
Others felt pressured to promote, claiming that they were being told to spend a certain amount or face a lawsuit. His close relationship with President Donald Trump with Musk made advertisers feel more eager to follow their demands, the person said.
Research firm Emarketer predicts X’s revenue will increase to $2.3 billion this year compared to $19 billion a year ago. However, the global revenue in 2022, when Musk took over was $4.1 billion.
Yaccarino also touted plans to enhance X’s artificial intelligence capabilities after it was purchased by Xai, a startup in Musk’s $45 billion artificial intelligence in March. She argued that the partnership will help deliver better ads for trending content in real time, adding that there will be “twice the amount of engineers” to improve the platform.
