Twitter Secures Money Transmitter Licenses in 3 US States

Twitter is on its way to featuring fiat payment options as it has obtained three money transmitter licenses in the US. The licenses are valid for Michigan, Missouri, and New Hampshire.

Twitter has secured money transmitter licenses information comes as the platform experiences something of an existential crisis, with numerous changes pushing users away. The management at the company is wrestling with how to make Twitter sustainable in the future, and some decisions have upset users.

Twitter’s Money Transmitter Licenses May Not Be Enough

Twitter’s decision to obtain money transmitter licenses is a bid to become an all-in-one app, like WeChat in China. The social media giant received the licenses for the states of Michigan, Missouri, and New Hampshire last week.

The licenses will allow Twitter to receive and transfer funds. However, it will need licenses in each state to be fully operational across the US.

There are means by which the company can apply to multiple states. The general impression is that this could be a test run for the system before further expansion arrives.

The first priority will be a payment tool. Fiat will, of course, will be supported, but it’s unclear whether crypto will be included later. Given Musk’s history with crypto, limited support may be a possibility.

Whether this can help Twitter survive its exodus of users remains to be seen.

Twitter’s bid to feature payments is certainly a big step forward for it, but it may not be enough to stem the flow of users leaving the platform. Several changes established since Elon Musk took over have cast aspersion on the platform’s future.

Among the changes is the fact that there is now a view limit. Furthermore, previously, it was possible to view tweets without logging. That changed recently, though viewing individual tweets without logging in is now possible.

Twitter also changed matters such that only verified accounts appear on the algorithm timeline. These are sharp changes for Twitter and could possibly benefit the alternative platforms that have been springing up.

Users Migrate to Decentralized Alternatives

As Twitter has filed for a money transmitter license, alternative social media platforms have been kicking off. This includes decentralized alternatives like Mastodon, which is among the most sought-after at the moment.

Jack Dorsey’s Bluesky has also seen several signups following Twitter’s recent decisions.

However, the most heavily discussed development at the moment is Meta’s Threads app. This new Instagram-based text app launched today.

While it has been seeing a lot of discussion, there are concerns about privacy and extensive data requirements.