International financial services provider PayPal Holdings launched Xoom, its international money transfer service, in the UK and 31 other European countries. People here can now use Xoom to pay bills or top up phones to more than 130 countries internationally. Calling it a significant milestone, a spokesperson for the company said that Xoom’s launch in Europe is another example of PayPal’s efforts to make the movement and management of money more convenient, accessible, secure and affordable.
According to the World Bank's figures the global remittance market is approximately a $689 billion industry with Britons remitting over $26 billion annually. The Office of the National Statistics estimates that the United Kingdom is home to over 9.3 million people who were born outside of the UK. Latest figures from the World Bank show that almost half (45%) of all money transfers from the UK are sent to Nigeria, India, Pakistan, China and the Philippines.
Families in India who bank with Punjab National Bank (PNB) can benefit from deposits in minutes when money is transferred from the United Kingdom using Xoom. For most other bank accounts, such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Yes Bank, State Bank of India (SBI) and Kotak Mahindra, Xoom transfers are usually deposited within minutes for amounts less than two lakh INR. Transfers over two lakh INR are usually available within two hours when sent during Indian banking hours. Families can also pickup their Xoom transactions in minutes in cash, at over 100,000 locations across India. You can also send mobile reloads via Xoom to India.
Xoom which was historically only available in the USA and Canada now also serves 34 countries across the African continent.
Speaking at the launch Xoom’s Vice President and General Manager Julian King,said: “We know how important these money transfers are in the lives of millions of people, and how crucial it is that money arrives swiftly and more securely so it can be used for things that matter. With Xoom, someone with a smartphone on a bus in London can send money that can be accessed within minutes in Mumbai or Hyderabad.”
A pioneer and market leader in digital cross border money transfer, currently, PayPal has 277 million active account holders who can connect and transact online, on a mobile device, in an app, or in person. Available in more than 200 markets around the world, the PayPal platform, including Braintree, Venmo, Xoom and iZettle, enables consumers and merchants to receive money in more than 100 currencies, withdraw funds in 56 currencies and hold balances in their PayPal accounts in 25 currencies.
