2.28.2023

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Monetize Twitter with Banking

We all know Papa Elon is on a mission to monetize Twitter. Relying strictly on Ad dollars is not what's gonna bring home the bacon. What could become a gamechanger is if Twitter offered banking products and services with the Twitter Blue subscription.

What could Musk learn from the other super apps like Alipay? Let's start with what is a super app? It's an app with a cape… But it is an app that can provide multiple services including payment and financial transaction processing, effectively becoming an all-in-one commerce and communication online platform.

Think about one app to handle all of your basic daily activities, like shopping, banking, or trolling internet whack jobs. Sounds like a pleasant day! Instead of users switching between multiple apps with multiple logins and forgotten passwords, roll it all up into one package.

The Pros:

 1) Diversified revenue streams: The biggest pro is more $$$! In addition to subscription and ad income, Twitter could offer online banking in the form of checking and savings accounts. Twitter could use the deposits form these accounts to offer loans and investment products like mutual funds, ETFs, and of course, Dogecoin!

These are great, but what's the biggie? Payments. Payment processing services could allow users to make purchases directly within the Twitter app, without having to leave the platform. Add remittance services on top of that, and users would be able to send money to friends and family around the world.

What could payment revenue look like? Reports show an estimated $1.3 billie from payments by 2028. The TAM of Twitter users P2P payments was estimated at $30 billie in remittances in 2021 according to FXC Intelligence.

2) Increased engagement: Offering these products and services could increase user engagement on the platform. More time tweeting = more mula.

 3) Data collection: Data is king. An ability to collect users' financial behavior provides more personalized recommendations for content, products, and services.

 4) Enhanced user experience: More utility from these additional products + better recommendations = better user experience.

The Cons:

 1) Regulatory issues: Banking is a highly regulated industry, and is certainly not Twitter's expertise. Regulatory oversight and compliance is costly and time-consuming. Not to mention Twitter would need banking licenses in every jurisdiction it operates in - i.e. every US state.

 2) Reputation risk: This also opens the door to data breaches, fraudulent activities, and other financial crimes. Sounds right up the alley of many Twitter troll accounts…

 3) Competition: Twitter would be facing steep competition from established players in the game, banks and FIs. Would it be worthwhile for Twitter to partner with one of these players? Maybe, but that would certainly cut down on the bottom line.

Ultimately, this would be an amazing offering to the active content creators on Twitter. Make it easy for these creators to monetize natively, and it will dramatically drive activity on the platform. Forget a weekly 5,000 word blog on Substack. Creators could quickly and easily speak to their followers with a seamless bite-size experience. While offering banking products and services could provide an opportunity for Twitter to diversify its revenue streams and increase user engagement, it also poses significant regulatory, reputational, and competitive risks. Twitter would need to carefully weigh the potential benefits and risks before deciding to enter the financial services industry. If it does decide to move forward (which all indications show that's the way), it would need to invest significant resources in regulatory compliance, establishing trust with users, and competing effectively with established players in the industry.

LULZ

reply with a Cold Stone bowl score… did you:

a) like it

b) love it

c) gotta have it