Elon Musk explains why identity checks will not be required for paid verification

Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, has revealed why users who pay for verification on the network would not require specific identification checks.

According to him, the ‘normal payment method’ would be used to verify the identity of Twitter Blue subscribers.

This assumes that Twitter Blue members will be required to sign up with a credit or debit card and have their purchases handled through the app stores’ in-app purchase mechanism, which will eventually aid in the fight against fraud and checkmate imitation.

 Musk explained this during a live-streamed meeting with Twitter advertisers hosted on Twitter Spaces on Wednesday, where he spoke about his vision for the company. 

 According to TechCrunch, part of Elon Musk’s plans for the company appears to be fintech-related. In other words, Twitter could be planning to establish bank accounts and lure existing Twitter users with high-paying interest rates. The social media company will not be the first to adopt this strategy. For instance, Apple recently launched a Savings Account feature for its cardholders. 

If the plan comes to fruition, Twitter would find itself competing with fintechs or other payment providers like PayPal and Venmo.

 Earlier this week, Twitter’s Director of Product Management, Esther Crawford, disclosed that Twitter Blue will not be based on identity verification. Instead, she said it is just a paid subscription which anybody can opt in and out of. 

She explained that this is why Twitter is also introducing the ‘Official’ label to distinguish between subscribers with paid blue checkmarks and verified official accounts. 

She also clarified that accounts that are eligible to receive the ‘official label’ include government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers, and some public figures. 

Before now, Twitter verification was to authenticate the identity of an account owner. It used to involve a long process, including the submission of national IDs to verify the identity of an account owner.