Major update: X Money is now open to all users, and you no longer need to pay for Premium to get 4% APY plus 3% cash back on card purchases. If you want 6% APY, a fake direct deposit can also solve that pretty easily. Personally, I think this card is now a no-brainer to open!

That said, keep in mind that they still have risk controls. If you do not have a U.S. ID for verification, I would not recommend putting too much money into it.

About X Money

The two biggest selling points of X Money right now are up to 6.00% APY and 3% cash back on eligible purchases made with the X Card. Previously, X Money’s high-yield benefit required Premium or even Premium+, but now regular users, Basic users, and Premium users get 4.00% APY and 3% cash back by default. In addition, after completing at least $1,000 in Qualifying Deposits within 34 days, the APY can be boosted to 6.00%; Premium+ users get 6.00% APY directly.

X Money account features include:

  • Account type: one primary Checking account, plus up to 3 Secondary Accounts
  • Partner bank: Cross River Bank, Member FDIC
  • Deposit rate: no subscription / Basic / Premium get 4.00% APY by default; 6.00% after meeting the Qualifying Deposit requirement; Premium+ gets 6.00% by default
  • Debit card cash back: 3% cash back on eligible X Card purchases
  • Physical card: Visa metal debit card, with no card number, expiration date, or CVV shown on the card face
  • Virtual card: automatically generated after account opening, using a different card number from the physical card
  • Monthly account fee: X Money itself has no monthly fee; Premium / Premium+ subscriptions affect how you qualify for APY
  • Eligibility: age 18 or older, U.S. resident, U.S. mobile phone number, eligible X account, and completed identity verification

Account Opening Bonuses

$25 Account Opening Bonus

Currently, after successfully opening an X Money account, users will usually see a $25 account opening bonus automatically appear in the account, with no deposit, Direct Deposit, or spending requirement. However, a small number of users have only received $15.

$300 Bonus (New York Only)

New York residents currently cannot earn X Money interest and cannot participate in the 6% APY Boost. As an alternative benefit, if you receive a total of at least $3,000 in eligible Direct Deposits within 90 days after account opening, you can get a $300 bonus. This bonus does not require maintaining a minimum balance, and it is usually paid out in about 14 days after the requirements are met. Some readers have already successfully completed the direct deposit requirement using LemFi and received the bonus.

Account Opening and Application

Eligibility and Steps

To apply for X Money, you need to meet the following requirements:

  • Be at least 18 years old;
  • Be a U.S. resident;
  • Have a verified U.S. mobile phone number;
  • Have an X account in good standing;
  • Provide information such as your name, date of birth, U.S. address, and SSN to complete identity verification.

At the moment, opening an X Money account no longer requires an X Premium or Premium+ subscription. If you want the highest 6.00% APY, users on the regular tier need to complete the Qualifying Deposit requirement; Premium+ users can receive 6.00% APY directly. The application steps are as follows:

  1. Open the X App and find Money in the sidebar;
  2. Fill in your personal information and complete KYC identity verification;
  3. After the account is approved, the system will automatically generate a virtual X Card;
  4. Apply for the physical metal card in the app;
  5. Connect an external bank account or debit card, then start funding the account.

If you cannot access the X Money registration page, it may be because your U.S. mobile phone number has not been verified, your network location is being detected as outside the United States, or your account status does not meet the requirements.

You Also Get a Checking Account

X Money does not just give you a debit card. After opening the account, you also get a primary account that can function as a Checking account, with its own routing number and Account Number. It can receive ACH, Wire, and Direct Deposit, and also supports early paycheck access, Mobile Check Deposit, mailed checks, bill payments, and transfers to other X users. The X Card is linked to this account, and card purchases are deducted directly from the account balance. The account has no Overdraft Protection, so transactions will usually be declined if the balance is insufficient. It is worth noting that X Money functions as a Checking account, but the official legal agreement refers to the underlying account as a Stored Value Account. X Payments LLC itself is not a bank; the actual account and banking services are provided by Cross River Bank.

You Can Open Up to 4 Accounts

In addition to the default primary Checking account, X Money also allows you to create up to 3 Secondary Accounts, for a total of up to 4 accounts. A Joint Account also counts toward this limit. Secondary Accounts are somewhat like buckets within a savings account and can be set up for different purposes such as Emergency, Travel, or New House. Eligible balances can also earn the corresponding X Money interest. Each account’s type, routing number, Account Number, and current limits can be viewed under Money → Settings.

3% Cash Back on Purchases

Using the X Card for eligible purchases currently earns 3% cash back. After a transaction posts, you can see the reward on the Money page and redeem it manually; any rewards not manually redeemed will be automatically deposited into the account on a 7-day cycle. X Money’s promotional page currently does not list a clear cash back cap, but the cash back terms reserve the right to set an overall cap, adjust the cash back rate, and determine whether a transaction is eligible. Therefore, this benefit can be used based on the current 3% rate, but I would not treat it as a permanent, absolutely uncapped fixed benefit. The following categories typically do not earn cash back:

  • Wire Transfer and Money Order;
  • Cash, foreign currency, and other cash-like transactions;
  • Financial institutions and account funding;
  • Brokerage and securities transactions;
  • Rent-related transactions;
  • Taxes, fines, and some government services;
  • Gambling, lottery, and casino transactions;
  • Precious metals, coins, and some jewelry transactions.

Recently, X Money added quite a few more categories that cannot earn 3%, blocking some useful payment types such as tuition, utilities, and wholesale clubs. That said, these will need to be tested by users, and the actual test results should be the final reference.

  • Utilities
  • Wholesale Clubs
  • Jewelry Stores, Watches, Clocks, and Silverware Stores
  • Insurance Underwriting, Premiums
  • Colleges, Universities
  • When no MCC is present transactions

Whether a merchant ultimately earns cash back depends on the MCC used for the transaction. After a return or refund, the corresponding cash back will also be clawed back. The official terms also explicitly exclude Manufactured Spending: if the system determines that a transaction was made merely to artificially generate cash back, it may deny rewards, claw back cash back that has already been issued, or even restrict the account. That said, a debit card and a credit card are not exactly the same. Credit cards usually also offer a grace period, travel protections, extended warranty, and more mature dispute-handling mechanisms. For especially large purchases, purchases that may be returned, or purchases where I need purchase protections, I would still rather use a credit card; for everyday ordinary spending, I would then consider the X Card 3%.

6.00% APY

X Money currently gives 4% APY outright, and you can increase it to 6% by completing a Deposit each month. Because it uses a rolling 34-day calculation, you need to keep meeting the requirement to maintain 6% APY continuously; for simplicity, doing it once per month should be enough. Qualifying Deposits mainly include:

  • Direct Deposit such as wages received via ACH with SEC Code PPD;
  • X Original Content Rewards;
  • X Creator Revenue Sharing;
  • X Creator Subscriptions income.

However, based on user testing, ordinary ACH transfers initiated from other banks, such as Chase, have been counted as direct deposits. Of course, you can also use a simple app like LemFi to get it done, so there is really no need to sign up for P+; just do a DD instead.

Funding, spending limits, and fees

What funding methods are supported?

X Money currently officially supports the following funding methods:

  • ACH Transfer: usually takes 1–3 business days;
  • Wire Transfer: if initiated before 3 p.m. ET on a business day, it can usually arrive the same day;
  • Debit card Load: usually available instantly;
  • Cash Load: you can deposit cash at designated retail stores, usually available instantly;
  • Mobile Check Deposit: usually takes 1–7 business days;
  • X Money P2P: transfers from other X Money users, usually available instantly;
  • Direct Deposit: eligible payroll deposits may arrive up to two days early.

X Money can also connect to other banks through Plaid. Note that a Cash Load completed at a retail store is not the same as depositing cash at an ATM. ATMs are not part of the official free cash funding network, and deposit fees charged by ATM operators may not necessarily be reimbursed.

Spending and transfer limits

X Money is not completely unlimited, and limits may vary by user. You can go to Money → Settings → Limits to view your current X Card spending, ATM withdrawal, bank transfer, Wire, check, and funding limits. The X Card agreement does not promise a uniform card spending limit for all users. Some users’ apps show that the daily card spending limit can be set as high as $25,000, but this is a real-account data point and does not guarantee that every new user will receive the same limit. The basic transfer and funding limits currently listed in the publicly available account agreement are as follows:

Action Daily limit Monthly limit
ATM withdrawal $500 As shown in the app
Instant transfer out to an external debit card $1,000 $3,000
Transfer out to a linked bank account $1,500 $7,500
Outgoing Wire $1,500 $7,500
Mail a check $2,500 $7,500
Retail-store Cash Load $990 $4,500
Mobile Check Deposit $1,000 $7,500

Here, “transfer out to an external debit card” means instantly transferring your X Money balance to another debit card; it is not everyday X Card card spending. Ordinary ACH funding, Incoming Wire, Direct Deposit, and debit card top-ups do not have a single publicly disclosed fixed limit; the specific limit will vary based on identity verification, account history, and risk controls. Up to $15,000 per Direct Deposit can be made available early. Amounts over $15,000 are not unable to be deposited; the portion above that amount simply has to wait until the official payment date before it can be used. Based on users’ real-world experience, you may be able to link at most 5 external payment cards within each 90-day period, and unlinking a card will not immediately reset the count. This limit does not appear as a uniform number in the current public FAQ, so you should still go by what your own account shows.

Fees

Item Fee
X Money account monthly fee $0
X Card spending fee $0
Account dormancy fee $0
Cash reload $0
Foreign transaction fee $0, but still converted at the Visa exchange rate
ATM operator fee Usually reimbursed within 3 calendar days
Instant transfer out to an external debit card 1.75% of the transfer amount, minimum $0.25
Premium outgoing domestic U.S. Wire Two free per year, then $20 each
Premium+ outgoing domestic U.S. Wire Free
Replacement metal card First replacement is free, then $35 each

The X Money account fees above do not include X Premium or Premium+ membership fees.

Security, risks, and conclusion

How is FDIC coverage calculated?

X Payments LLC is a financial technology company, not a bank and not an FDIC member. X Money’s underlying deposit account is provided by Cross River Bank. When Cash Sweep is not used, deposits receive coverage at Cross River Bank under normal FDIC rules, up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank, for each account ownership category. If you already hold other deposits at Cross River Bank in the same ownership category, they need to be aggregated. X Money will automatically place eligible funds into the IntraFi Cash Sweep Program, spreading funds across multiple partner banks. In theory, this can provide up to an aggregate $10 million in pass-through FDIC coverage for each account ownership category.

Can you play with credit card funding and Money Orders?

The standard funding methods officially listed by X Money include ACH, Wire, debit card, cash, check, and P2P; credit cards are not listed as a formally supported funding method. Some users have tested funding X Money with credit cards such as the Capital One Venture X, and the transactions have temporarily posted to the credit card as ordinary Purchases earning 2x, rather than as Cash Advances. However, this is only a current data point and does not mean issuers and X Money will continue to handle it this way in the future. If a credit card funding option appears in your own account, you should still test with only a small amount the first time and lower your credit card’s Cash Advance Limit in advance. Large or frequent top-ups may trigger risk controls at X Money or the credit card issuer, and transactions may also be reclassified as Cash Advances after posting. Using the X Card to buy Money Orders, cycling funds through financial channels, or engaging in other Manufactured Spending is not suitable as a long-term play. The current cash back terms already explicitly exclude MCCs such as Money Orders, Funding Transactions, financial institutions, rent, and taxes, and also allow X Money to claw back rewards and restrict accounts. So you can assess the risk for yourself. In simple terms, 3% cash back is suited for normal spending, not for a long-term cycle of “credit card funding — debit card spending — funds returning.”

What other risks are there?

X Money’s biggest advantage right now is its generous subsidy, and its biggest risk is also that the product is very new. Keep the following in mind when using it:

  • Rates and cash back may change: 6% APY and 3% cash back are not guaranteed forever;
  • The account depends on X: X Money can only be used through an X account. If your X account or the Money feature is locked, you may temporarily be unable to access or manage your funds normally;
  • Risk controls may freeze funds: The official Acceptable Use Policy allows deposits, transactions, and withdrawals to be restricted during an investigation, and in some cases funds may be frozen for up to 180 days;
  • You may need to submit your SSN: If your application triggers verification, you will need to complete full KYC and accept providing your identity information to X Payments and its partner banks;
  • Large outgoing transfers may not be convenient: The publicly disclosed basic transfer limits are not high. Before making a large deposit, make sure to confirm your actual Limits;
  • The debit card uses your account balance directly: Merchants such as hotels, rental car companies, and gas stations may place relatively large temporary holds, which can tie up funds for as long as 30 days.

If you plan to use it long term, I recommend first enabling MFA and Passkey on your X account, using a separate password, and testing the funding, spending, and withdrawal process with small amounts first. I would not move all of my emergency fund into it at the beginning. At a minimum, you should first confirm whether customer service, transfer speed, and account limits meet your needs.

Is It Worth Opening?

My view is that as long as you are not worried about X and the side effects of linking a financial account to a social account, then based on X Money’s current features, opening one is all upside. First, this is a debit card, so opening it does not require a hard pull and does not affect your credit score. Second, you can get 4% APY directly, and with just a little Direct Deposit setup you can get 6% APY, making it an easy way to earn a high yield. Third, the 3% cash back on purchases can cover some categories that credit cards may not cover. Fourth, X Money also provides everyday account features such as Checking, a routing number, Direct Deposit, checks, Wire, ATM, and P2P, so it is usable as an account. That said, I want to emphasize again: do not treat a newly launched fintech account as your only primary bank, and do not turn normal spending into a risk-control test just to earn a little extra cash back. Of course, if you are interested in bank account bonuses and high-yield account bonuses, you can also read: