So some of y’all may be seeing notifications about Twitter sending you money through X Money. Personally, Twitter sent me $15, labeled “Welcome Gift,” BEFORE I had an X Money account.
I tapped the notification and was prompted to sign up. During sign-up, it asked for my legal name, Social Security information, and address. After I finished opening the account, the $15 was there and available.
This appears to be an incentive to get people to open an X Money account. The money was real in my case, but I wanted to understand the account and the attached conditions, so I looked more closely.
The bank behind the stored value account is Cross River Bank, an FDIC member. X Payments provides access through X; it isn’t itself an FDIC-insured bank.
After reading the FAQ and terms, here’s what stood out:
• Certain policy suspensions can also cut off Money access, with funds returned by mailed check. The FAQ specifically names Child Safety, Violent and Hateful Entities, and X Money Acceptable Use violations. It says other Twitter suspensions don’t interrupt access to Money.
• FDIC insurance protects eligible deposits against an insured bank failing, subject to coverage rules and limits. It doesn’t cover scams or guarantee uninterrupted access.
• Twitter Payments’ terms attempt to cap its own liability at $100, with exceptions required by law. That is separate from FDIC insurance, and it does NOT mean your insured deposits are limited to $100.
• Completed person-to-person payments generally can’t be canceled. Double-check who you’re paying.
• You’re also agreeing to privacy terms covering how your personal and financial information is collected, used, and shared. Read those alongside the banking terms.
Please watch out for phishing. If you want to check whether you received anything, open the official X app yourself and navigate to your notifications. Don’t start from a link in an unexpected email, text, or DM asking you to “claim” funds or enter your SSN.
Read the terms, understand the account, and decide whether it works for you. 💙