Photo credit: www.cnbc.com
Senator Blumenthal Seeks Clarity on Visa’s Partnership with X
Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut and the ranking member of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, has recently requested detailed information from Visa regarding its collaboration with X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, owned by Elon Musk. This inquiry comes as the platform plans to introduce a digital wallet.
In a letter dated March 6, reported by CNBC, Blumenthal highlighted concerns over Musk’s influence on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which is set to play a crucial role in regulating the upcoming X Money service. He emphasized that the CFPB has been significantly weakened under Musk’s stewardship, which raises alarms about potential conflicts of interest as Visa enters this partnership.
“Given Musk’s unique position and his previous actions to undermine the CFPB, there are serious concerns about Visa potentially benefiting from the conflicts and questionable practices associated with its new partner,” Blumenthal stated.
This inquiry marks an early indication of scrutiny toward Visa following its announcement in late January that it would facilitate peer-to-peer payments on the X platform. Shortly after this agreement was made public, personnel from Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency gained access to CFPB data, leading to allegations that Musk may be attempting to limit regulatory oversight and possibly glean trade secrets from competing services.
Senator Blumenthal expressed skepticism about X’s capability to safeguard consumers against fraud and scams, particularly in light of the platform’s previous reputation for issues related to bots, scams, and hate speech. He reiterated concerns about how a social media company would manage the complexities of the financial sector, stating that “these concerns cast doubt on X’s ability to protect consumers as they enter this new business area.”
Further to this, Blumenthal underscored Visa’s legal obligations as the world’s largest payment processor—stressing the importance of maintaining a secure network that is impervious to financial crimes, including scams, fraud, money laundering, and terrorist financing.
In his correspondence, Blumenthal requested a comprehensive breakdown of Visa’s strategy for enabling payments on X, including insights into the business model and Visa’s compliance framework concerning regulatory mandates on illicit financial activities.
Moreover, he demanded access to all pertinent records linked to the partnership and any communications between representatives of X, Visa, DOGE, and CFPB officials.
As of now, both Visa and X have not publicly responded to these inquiries.
Source
www.cnbc.com