Twitter Adds New, Regional-Focused Payment Options for Twitter Tips as it Looks to Help Fund More Creators

Twitter is expanding its creator tipping options once again, with the addition of several new payment providers, aligned with regional entities, in order to help more users make money from their Twitter presence.

As Twitter explains here, users are now able to use Paga, Barter by Flutterwave and Paytm to accept on-profile tips.

Paga is a Nigerian-based payment provider, which already serves 17 million users, Barter by Flutterwave is also popular with African-region users, while Paytm serves 333 million consumers, and 21 million merchants, primarily in India.

The expansion of Twitter’s tipping options will provide more opportunities for creators in these regions, while also opening up broader potential in all markets via additional payment processes.

In addition to this, Twitter will also support payments via Ethereum address, as it looks to lean into the growing enthusiasm around crypto and Web3, and facilitate more interactions in the space.

When it launched tips to all users back in September, Twitter included the capacity to accept tips in Bitcoin, with users able to add their Bitcoin address or their Strike account into their payment options.

Now, Twitter’s looking to extend that again, which, along with the addition of NFT profile pictures, provides another way for crypto enthusiasts to use the app in new ways, which could help Twitter generate more traction among this growing audience.

On-profile tips have become a key element in the growing creator economy, with most platforms now offering some form of direct payment for creators, enabling fans to show their appreciation, and creators to make direct revenue from their efforts.

It’s hard to say how effective this will be in a Twitter context, as users are now accustomed to reading tweets for free, and most seem overly hesitant to pay up, even via Twitter’s ‘Super Follow’ option, which enables creators to charge for additional, exclusive content.

Early returns on Super Follows haven’t been great, according to some reports, and it does seem like Twitter will have an uphill battle to change user attitudes and behaviors around such, and re-align people towards its subscription-based offerings.

But then again, Twitter is still establishing itself in many regions, and by providing more payment options, more aligned to developing markets, maybe Twitter can implement such at the base level, and alter habitual behaviors and expectations, making subscriptions a more established, ingrained element of the process.

Facilitating more payment options on this front could actually, then, be a key step, and while it may not seem like it’s catching on right now, there could still be a lot of potential in tipping as a key pathway to both platform and creator success.

Twitter tips are also available via Bandcamp, Cash App, Patreon, Razorpay, GoFundMe and PicPay. You can read more about Twitter Tips here, while Twitter’s also put together a new overview of all of its creator monetization offerings.