Banking on X? That’s a hard pass from me
I did my daily skim of LinkedIn, including the news and saw this headline, Musk's X to launch finance features.
According to LinkedIn News, X CEO Linda Yaccarino said the social media platform will “soon” expand into financial services, allowing users to make investments and trades. Speaking with the Financial Times, Yaccarino said X users will “be able to transact your whole financial life on the platform.”
Now, Musk has wanted to turn Twitter/X into the American version of WeChat, which is fundamental to existence in China, for years. He’s not the only tech billionaire with WeChat-like dreams. Zuckerberg also wanted to turn Facebook into a ‘everything finance’ platform and as of now, you can make and transfer payments via Meta Pay but it’s pretty easy to ignore.
My first reaction on reading Yaccarino’s statement, “Oh, girl, no. Absolutely not,” for many reasons.
The primary reason is a lack of trust. Not just in Musk. The man is erratic, moody and indulges in many, many substances according to the recent New York Times article. He’s messy af. Do you really want to trust your entire financial history, profile and life to him? I don’t. I want my banking and investing life to be dull and extremely boring.
It’s only June. sighs
Second, if you do put your entire banking life on Twitter/X, you’re at the mercy of his and his fans’ whims. He has full control over the platform. What’s stopping him from suspending your accounts if you say, like or retweet something he or his fans don’t like? You have to conform or lose access to your money.
Third, regulation. Banks and other financial institutions have some form of regulation, even in the US which is pretty deregulated compared to Canada. Will Twitter/X conform to international regulations? Considering what Musk did with DOGE, I’m giving this a lot of side-eye.
Fourth, Safety and security. Like other social platforms, Twitter/X is susceptible to hacking. Then there’s other security measures when it comes to sending payments.
Fifth, your data. Banks use your data to market to you but they adhere to privacy legislation. I’m not confident that Twitter/X would keep your data safe or not use it for other purposes.
Sixth, the declining user base. Twitter/X’s time seems to be over. The user base is continuing to drop this year since it’s a cesspool of bots, mis- and disinformation, which has made people leave in droves. So what’s the motivation to hop back on it? Financial reasons? Unlikely.
Now, is it likely that Canadians will have access to this? It’s early days but I’d be surprised if the banks here would work with Twitter/X. We’ll see.
I think a concentration of money, power and data in the hands of billionaires has already proven to be a terrible idea. Adding this to the mess would give Musk even more control. Terrible idea.
This is a quick take based on recent news. I don’t send these out very often. Instead, I post these to Substack Notes so follow me there if you want to read more of these.
Also, for my more lifestyle-based musings, you can follow up at The Social Life of a Single Woman.