The feature, spotted first by the TGInfoEn Telegram channel (via reverse engineer AssembleDebug), is rolling out in select countries for Telegram for Android users.
If you agree to let Telegram use your number as an OTP relay, the company will send you a transferable code for Telegram Premium.
The terms of service for this peer-to-peer login program notes that the company will send a maximum of 150 OTP messages per month.
From a monetary perspective, you might end up paying more through your phone bill than the value of Telegram’s premium membership.
However, users opting into the peer-to-peer login system have to think if giving out their phone number to strangers to save a few bucks is worth the hassle.
Ethiopian startup eQub is the winner of the fintech pitch-off at 4YFN 2024, Mobile World Congress’ startup event.
The startup’s name is an Amharic word referring to a local form of peer-to-peer credit, Michael said.
An Equb is a group of people who join forces to save money, which is then distributed on a rotating basis.
Starting with an app, it targets users among the growing number of Ethiopians who have bank accounts and mobile phones, but limited access to credit.
Making an Equb digital is an improvement in itself: For eQub members with bank accounts, they can add money without having to go to an ATM.
In an announcement today, X shared its roadmap for the year ahead, which will include AI-powered experiences and the launch of peer-to-peer payments, among other initiatives.
In Musk’s vision, X users will be able to send money to others on the platform and extract those funds to authenticated bank accounts.
In the X blog post published today, the company claims it will launch peer-to-peer payments this year, to unlock “more user utility and new opportunities for commerce,” suggesting a tie-in with other X products, like creator revenue sharing and online shopping.
The latter has been a particular source of concern for X advertisers, who have found that despite X’s measures, their ads were placed next to toxic content or hate speech, leading many to withdraw.
80,000+ creators have also received payouts via X’s revenue-sharing program in under a year’s time, but X did not provide a figure.
