PayPal Launches International Money Transfer Service Xoom Across Europe

US payments company PayPal is expanding further in Europe by launching its international money transfers service Xoom in Britain and 31 other countries across the continent. Xoom allows customers to transfer money abroad to more than 130 markets internationally, including India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Kenya, Poland, and China.

“Xoom customers can send up to EUR 10,000 in a single transaction,” PayPal said in a statement. “A Xoom account can be set up in a few easy steps via the Xoom iOS or Android app or Xoom.com. Existing PayPal customers can use their PayPal account to access Xoom's services, making it even quicker and easier to send money abroad.”

The company said the rollout would help it grab market share in the $689 billion global remittances market, building on previous launches of the service in the United States and Canada.

Britons alone transfer over $26 billion in remittances overseas annually, many sending money to help family members pay bills.

Xoom partners with major banks and other finance firms to facilitate the money transfers, with customers able to transfer up to GBP 8,800 ($11,029) per transaction.

“We know how important these money transfers are in the lives of millions of people, and how crucial it is that money arrives swiftly so it can be used for things that matter,” said Dan Schulman, PayPal's CEO and President, in a statement. “With Xoom, someone with a smartphone on a bus in London, Paris or Berlin can send money that can be accessed quickly in Mumbai, Lagos or Nairobi to pay for a family member's medical emergency or urgent financial needs.”

Written with inputs from Reuters