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PayPal Holdings Inc. says its Xoom remittance service now covers 32 markets in Europe, an expansion that boosts Xoom’s presence to more than 130 international markets.
Xoom, which PayPal bought in 2015, had a major expansion in 2018 when it picked up 60 countries in a deal with Euronext Worldwide Inc.’s Ria money-transfer subsidiary.
The European expansion, announced Tuesday, enables consumers to send money, pay bills, or top up phones. They can send up to 10,000 euros ($11,217) in a single transaction using a Xoom account, or use PayPal to access Xoom’s services. European PayPal customers can use a bank account in addition to debit and credit card options to fund transfers.
PayPal calls the expansion significant. “The way we move and manage our money has changed dramatically in the last few years,” PayPal president and chief executive Dan Schulman said in a press release. “We have moved beyond the days when the only option for sending money abroad was to queue at a counter for hours.”
Competition in the money-transfer market is intensifying. Earlier this year, Blockchain startup Bluemix Inc. launched two services for cross-border remittances. And Visa Inc. in June unveiled a cross-border transfer network, though it’s meant for business-to-business transfers. Meanwhile, the big agent-based money-transfer networks The Western Union Co. and MoneyGram International Inc. are both enhancing their digital services.
