Twitter’s “Tips” feature, which has allowed select users to be tipped by followers, is rolling out to everyone on the platform, the company announced Thursday. Users can even accept payments in bitcoin. iOS users will get the feature first, followed by Android users “over the coming weeks.”
NurPhoto | Getty Images“People already drop links to their payment profiles in their bios and in their Tweets. Tips makes this easier to do, offering one fixed spot, right on your profile, where you can link to your Cash App, Patreon, Venmo and other platforms where people can support you,” said a statement from staff produce manager Esther Crawford.
Crawford highlighted some reasons for tipping: A user could “adore” someone’s commentary, want to support an emerging creator, help a small business or donate to a worthy cause.
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The services to which Tips can go include Bandcamp, Cash App, Chipper, Patreon, Razorpay, Wealthsimple Cash and Venmo. With the wider rollout, Twitter also added GoFundMe and Brazilian mobile payments platform PicPay. Twitter doesn’t take a cut of the tips, which users send when pressing a button on a profile that redirects to the appropriate app.
Strike, a payments app on the Bitcoin Lightning Network, is also included, so users can tip in cryptocurrency. Twitter pointed out that Strike works in El Salvador and the United States, but Hawaii and New York are excluded. Any Bitcoin Lightning wallet can be used to send money to someone’s Strike account.
“We want everyone on Twitter to have access to pathways to get paid. Digital currencies that encourage more people to participate in the economy and help people send each other money across borders and with as little friction as possible – help us get there,” Crawford said.
