X isn’t only experimenting with a standalone version of X Chat. This week, the platform also began rolling out early invites to X Money, its upcoming payments service that until now had reportedly been tested internally with employees.
What made this beta rollout unusual is the way invites were distributed. Elon Musk teamed up with actor William Shatner to offer access to X Money through a charity-driven approach: select users could secure an invitation by making a $1,000 donation to Shatner’s charity, which supports children’s and veterans’ organizations. Shatner shared details about the invite process on X, while Musk amplified the buzz by reposting mentions of the service, calling attention to “X Money” and predicting, “This will be big.”
According to Shatner, the invite auction happened with Musk’s approval and followed a test transaction sent through X Money. A screenshot Shatner shared showed Musk sending him $42, a playful pop-culture nod to science fiction fans. In another wink to that theme, the beta invite pool was limited to 42 spots, with those 42 winners getting first access to the feature.
Once auction winners receive their notification, they’ll see a dedicated “Money” link appear inside the X app, positioned just below the Premium section. Those early users are also expected to be among the first to receive a metal X Money debit card customized with their X username. The card is tied to X’s partnership with Visa, which is helping enable the person-to-person payment functionality.
Screenshots Shatner posted also offered a first look at the X Money interface. The service appears to be organized into three main tabs: Account, Rewards, and Activity. Users can deposit funds, send money, or request money, similar to the core functions people already use in popular payment apps. One notable feature shown is the ability to set up direct deposit, with the screenshots indicating an option to earn interest—one screen referenced earning up to 6.00% APY.
The images also suggest that user deposits are held by Cross River Bank, Member FDIC, and insured up to $250,000 per individual. At the same time, it’s important to note the distinction that X Payments itself is not an FDIC-insured bank. Instead, it operates as a payments service and has been building regulatory coverage by acquiring money transmitter licenses across the United States. The company reportedly now holds licenses in more than 40 states.
X Money fits directly into Musk’s long-promised vision of turning X into an “everything app,” combining messaging, payments, subscriptions, creator tools, video, and other services under one roof. In a public company meeting earlier this year, Musk reportedly told staff that X Money would move into a limited external beta within a month or two, before expanding more broadly worldwide.
With X testing X Chat as both an in-app experience and potentially a separate standalone app, it raises an obvious question: could X Money eventually become its own standalone payments app as well? That move could position it more directly against major competitors in peer-to-peer payments, offering a simpler entry point for users who want payments without the full social app experience.
For Musk, payments aren’t a new fascination. His history in online finance traces back to 1999, when he founded X.com, a financial services startup that later became part of what evolved into PayPal. After purchasing Twitter in 2022 and renaming it X, he effectively revived that original “X” identity—this time with payments at the center of the strategy.
