According to sources familiar with the situation, the Financial Times reported on Monday that Twitter Inc. has started seeking regulatory licenses and is preparing to implement payments on the social media network.
Following his $44 billion acquisition of the business in October, Twitter’s new CEO Elon Musk is pressuring the company to develop new sources of income as it experiences a decline in advertising revenue.
Esther Crawford, a director of product management at Twitter, is in charge of leading the development of the payments function, according to the report, which also stated that the executive was quickly establishing herself as one of Musk’s most important lieutenants.
Musk has previously stated that the purchase of Twitter would be a key component of a larger strategy to develop “the everything app,” a platform that would provide social networking, peer-to-peer payments, and online retail.
Early in 2021, before Musk took control, Twitter was considering letting its users accept tips—or digital payments—from their followers.
