Elon Musk vs Elizabeth Warren
Hey Digital Banking Fanatic!
Senator Elizabeth Warren didn't mince words last week.
In a letter addressed directly to Elon Musk, she warned that the upcoming launch of X Money poses serious risks to consumers, national security, and the U.S. financial system.
The timing is sharp: it lands exactly one year after Musk played a central role in dismantling the CFPB, the very agency that would have overseen a product like X Money.
Her accusations go beyond product criticism. She points to a carveout in the GENIUS Act that could allow X to issue stablecoins without the guardrails applied to public companies (potentially shaped while Musk was still a special government employee), and raises X's track record of sanctioned accounts, privacy violations, and unaddressed fraud.
His deadline to respond: April 21st.
But the most interesting debate isn't the political one. The real story is distribution.
The platform acquired by Musk in 2022 has roughly 100 million U.S. users, money transmission licenses across 35+ states, and Visa backing its payments infrastructure.
What Musk is building is more than a payment feature. Is a financial layer inside a platform people already open every day. And that's a distribution advantage no bank can replicate.
That's what's making regulators uncomfortable, and what should be keeping traditional banks and credit unions up at night.
More from the world of digital banking awaits. 👇 See you tomorrow!
Cheers,
INSIGHTS
📊 The world’s top digital banks in 2026 👇
NEWS
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🇧🇷 Z.ro Bank shut down its app for individual users to focus on the B2B segment, which already accounted for about 90% of its revenue. The move reflects a strategic shift toward corporate solutions after the pivot was anticipated back in 2023.
🇺🇸 Slash raises $100M to disrupt business banking. Slash raised $100M in Series C funding to expand its AI-powered business banking platform and compete with players like Ramp and Brex. The company aims to modernize financial services for businesses, leveraging automation to streamline processes and support global growth.
🇺🇸 CTBC Bank USA opts for Narmi digital banking platform. A vendor statement confirms that the group's regional subsidiary, CTBC Bank USA, will "implement components of Narmi's digital banking platform", initially covering "account opening, consumer digital banking, and business digital banking capabilities."
🇬🇧 Anthropic is preparing to offer its Mythos model to British banks through its Glasswing program, after tests revealed it can detect and potentially exploit cybersecurity weaknesses. The company says testing by Mythos has uncovered thousands of “zero-day” vulnerabilities, including within every major web browser and operating system.
🇨🇴 Banco de Bogotá enabled debit and credit cards in Google Pay, allowing users to make contactless payments via NFC and integrate with Google Wallet. The update strengthens its digital payments offering with tokenization to enhance transaction security.
🇺🇸 Alkami has introduced Alkami Code Studio, an AI-powered development tool in beta designed to help financial institutions build and deploy solutions faster. Embedded in its platform, it supports compliant workflows, secure coding, and scalable digital banking experiences.
🇮🇳 Candescent is expanding its presence in India, growing product development across Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. The company now has around 1,000 employees in the country, reflecting a stronger focus on India as a key hub for innovation and engineering.
🇵🇪 BTG Pactual applied for authorization from Peru’s banking regulator to operate as a bank in the country. The request marks a new step in its expansion, following prior approval to establish Banco BTG Pactual Perú, with a planned capital commitment of $100M.
🇬🇧 JPMorgan hires Kunal Malani from Monzo to lead its Chase UK digital bank. The move supports its retail expansion in the UK, where Chase has grown rapidly since its 2021 launch, surpassing 2 million customers. Continue reading
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