Last week, New Hampshire, Michigan and Missouri approved Twitter's application to serve as a money transmitter, laying the groundwork for the social media app to expand into payments and other financial services.

Money transmitter licenses vary in requirements and privileges across states, but generally they enable companies to send, receive and transfer funds for customers domestically and internationally. These licenses also permit currency exchange and the issuance of prepaid cards. By acquiring these licenses, Twitter gains the capability to venture into the realm of financial transactions within its platform.