The earliest hurdle that Musk couldn’t clear arose in New York. In late 2024, X weirdly ended up withdrawing its application for a money transmitter license in the state.
X appeared to back down after a law firm warned state banking regulators that the company was “unfit” to process payments and should instead be probed over its alleged “troubling and deep ties” to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ever since, Ars has been requesting information on X’s withdrawal in New York, including requests to review regulators’ discussions of the application. But New York public records officials confirmed to Ars in May that no information would be shared, partly because X fought the disclosures.
Initially, X “requested that the application be excepted from public disclosure” on the basis that it contained “trade secrets,” a letter denying Ars’ request said.
But the state found no trade secrets and instead granted X’s request, citing the risk of an “unlevel playing field” if rivals saw the “blueprint” for X Money.
Additionally, officials said that their internal discussions could not be shared, as they are marked confidential to encourage “candor” and “open communication” among officials when approving sensitive applications.
It’s unclear whether X plans to resubmit applications in New York or Massachusetts, where the launch of X Money has long been criticized by that state’s senator, Elizabeth Warren.
In April, Warren warned Musk in a letter that X could not be trusted to handle responsibilities like dispute resolution and fraud remediation, citing the company’s record of failing to prevent abuses on its platforms, including allowing sanctioned actors to buy verified accounts and missing other forms of verified-user fraud.
“If your track record operating X is any indication of how you’ll operate X Money, consumers, our national security, and the stability of the financial system may be at risk,” Warren wrote.
Warren also raised concerns about X’s banking partner, Cross River Bank, pointing to prior enforcement actions over deceptive loan practices involving the bank’s fintech partners. As Tech Times noted, the integrity of X Money depends on both Cross River and X protecting X users.
X did not respond to Ars’ request to comment.