A few simple clicks via the Xoom mobile app or website and family in India and Pakistan can get money instantly deposited directly into their bank accounts at competitive rates

PAYPAL on Tuesday launched Xoom, its international money transfer service in Canada. Canadian immigrants can now use Xoom to quickly and securely send money, pay bills and reload phones fast for loved ones living in more than 130 countries globally, including India and Pakistan. To send money abroad in a few simple steps, download Xoom’s mobile app on Android and iOS or go to Xoom.com. Canadian immigrant families remit nearly $24 billion[i] annually to support family and friends back home.

“At Xoom, we are focused on making the process of sending money home to loved ones in another country fast and convenient for hardworking immigrants. Sending money abroad is often expensive and time consuming,” said Julian King, Xoom’s Vice President and General Manager. “Bringing Xoom’s digital remittance services to Canada will help eliminate these inconveniences so it’s fast and easy for Canadians to send bank deposits, reload prepaid phones and pay bills to support loved ones back home.”

Canada is one of the world’s most diverse countries and is home to more than 7.5 million foreign-born people from more than 200 places of birth[ii]. Introducing PayPal’s Xoom will benefit more than one in five people living in Canada – many of whom support family members overseas for things like medical bills, education, utility bills and other financial needs.

Xoom is one of the easiest and fastest ways to send money to South Asian countries at competitive rates, including: India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Families in India who bank with PNB benefit from instant deposits, 365 days a year. For all other major bank accounts across the country, like ICICI, SBI and HDFC, transfers are deposited within four hours when sent during Indian banking hours. Families can also pickup their transactions instantly in cash, at over 50,000 locations across India.

Xoom is one of the easiest and fastest ways to send money to South Asian countries at competitive rates, including Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. If you send money to Pakistan, you can make instant direct deposits to over 20 major banks like HBL, MCB, and Bank Alfalah in Pakistan, and also make ready right away for instant cash pickups at over 5,000 pickup locations at competitive rates. All recipients need is a valid ID and the Xoom transaction number to pick up the money. Sending money to any National Bank of Pakistan rupee account will arrive the same day when sent Monday to Friday by 4:30 p.m. (Pakistan time).

Cost-effective digital money transfer services for a global market

Canadians can now send up to $12,500 CAD in a single transaction[iii] to India and Pakistan. For send money transactions, depending on the receiver country, users can choose from a range of options: deposit money to a bank account, send cash for pick-up or have cash delivered directly to their recipient’s door.

Xoom transfers can be tracked quickly and easily via text updates, email notifications or directly from the mobile app and website. Those who send money abroad can get their questions answered from customer support staff in English, French, Spanish and Filipino.

Xoom partners with highly credible banks and partners around the world to provide fast, secure and affordable money transfers. According to the ‘Migration and Remittances’ April 2018 report by the World Bank, globally, the top three receiver remittance countries are India, China and the Philippines. Xoom provides money transfer services to these key corridors in addition to the UK, Eurozone and many other countries in Eastern Europe and Africa.

Historically, the cost of securely and efficiently managing and moving money across borders has been high but advances in digital technology—in particular mobile—are enabling a significant reduction in remittances costs. Sending money overseas through a digital service like Xoom costs nearly half (3.93%) of the amount sent compared to the average cost of traditional remittances services (7.45%)[iv].

“Two billion people around the world are underserved by traditional financial institutions. Some must stand in line for over an hour just to cash a cheque,” adds King. “With Xoom, Canadians can now get a fast, painless and secure way to support loved ones back home.”

With this launch, PayPal and Xoom are helping to improve the financial health of Canadians and millions of people worldwide. Xoom’s increased presence in North America is an important milestone, signifying PayPal’s goal of democratizing the management and movement of money for people globally.

[i] Source: World Bank’s latest Migration and Development Brief.

[ii] Source: Immigrant population in Canada, 2016 Census of Population by Stats Canada

[iii] Subject to Know Your Customer requirements. Sending more than $10,000 CAD in 24 hours takes additional days. The speed of transaction is dependent on partner processing hours, good funds availability, approval by Xoom’s proprietary verification system, and our partner’s systems availability. May not be available for all transactions.

[iv] Source: Xoom, Digital Remittances: Enhancing Financial Health for Families around the World whitepaper, 2017