PayPal and Xoom Make it Easier to Send and Request Money Abroad
Sending money abroad has traditionally been a cumbersome process for everyone involved. Both a sender and a recipient typically have to travel to a store, wait in long lines; pay high fees, and then stress over whether or not their money will arrive safely.
The cross-border flow of money transfers is ripe for disruption and less than a year after PayPal closed its acquisition of Xoom, we’re excited to announce a couple of product innovations that will help make the movement and management of money easier for people around the world.
Expanding ‘Send Money Internationally’ Capabilities on PayPal with Xoom
For the past 15 years, Xoom has been driving innovation in the remittances industry as a digital money transfer service.Starting today, Xoom is making it easier than ever for PayPal’s 87M U.S. users to send money to loved ones outside of the U.S. With a new integration within the
PayPal website available today and the PayPal mobile app coming soon, users will see new options and countries to send money internationally.
By linking your PayPal account with Xoom, users can now send to 10 new countries, including Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Guyana, India, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. With PayPal and Xoom, you can now send money to over 200 markets worldwide.
In addition to sending money to PayPal accounts, you can use Xoom to securely deposit money into bank accounts, send money for cash pick-up, pay bills and reload mobile phones for loved ones in more than 50 countries.
With this integration, users can now login with their PayPal credentials on Xoom’s website and mobile app to send money abroad. There’s also no need to re-enter financial information on Xoom since bank accounts, credit and debit cards in a user’s PayPal account will automatically be accessible within Xoom.
Adding a new ‘Request’ feature on Xoom
Remittances have generally been a one-way street. Senders have carried most of the heavy load and recipients have been limited in the way they can help make the process easier. Today, we’re excited to announce a new ‘
request’ feature for Xoom users. For the first time, users outside of the U.S. can use Xoom to easily send a ‘request’ to their loved ones in the U.S. for a money transfer, bill payment, or a mobile reload from 29 countries including the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico and the Philippines.
No more wondering what the best location is for your money transfer or having to write down complicated account information and potentially delaying payments from mistakes; no more calls to check account numbers for bill payments or mobile reloads. This information is directly entered by recipients and saved on their accounts for future requests.
There is no charge for making a request; it takes just a few easy steps and recipients can make requests 24/7 on the web from any mobile phone, tablet or computer.
Improving Financial Health and Participation Worldwide
Together, PayPal and Xoom are on a mission to expand and improve financial health and participation for people worldwide. Today, we are releasing findings from our
“Digital Remittances: Enhancing Financial Health for Families around the World” white paper, which shows that the average cost of sending money overseas with Xoom or PayPal is approximately half the amount of traditional methods. With global remittances expected to be $600 billion in 2016, according to the World Bank, a 3.52% cost savings from switching to a digital remittance service like Xoom and PayPal is equivalent to $21 billion in cost savings. Those savings have the potential of lifting nearly 30 million people out of poverty, according to the UN Center for Trade and Development findings.
Both Xoom and PayPal believe that leveraging technology and broadening consumer choice will help make savings possible for consumers who depend on this vital source of financial support.
John Kunze, John Kunze, VP of Xoom, a PayPal Service