Xoom: New feature for OFW remittance

Xoom, a PayPal service and leading digital money transfer provider, recently announced it has launched a new feature for remittance beneficiaries in 29 countries across Latin America, Europe and Asia, including the Philippines. For the first time, users outside of the US can use Xoom to easily send a “request” to their loved ones in the US for money transfer, bill payment or mobile reload.

Xoom’s new “request” feature offers Filipino beneficiaries a single digital tool to control the frequency and form in which they receive funds that are often used for necessities like food, utilities or healthcare expenses. This new service is now available just in time for the busy Christmas season, which traditionally sees the highest number of remittances made by overseas Filipinos wor-kers (OFWs) to their families. Sending a request is free. It takes just a few easy steps and beneficiaries can make requests—24 hours a day—on the web from any mobile phone, tablet or computer.

Higher

According to a 2016 report by the Central Bank of the Philippines, personal remittances from OFWs have reached US$7.2 billion in the first quarter of this year, which is higher by 4.3 percent as compared to the same period in 2015. The steady demand for OFWs remained a key driver to the growth of remittance inflows. It is estimated that over 2.4 million overseas workers are deployed all over the world who send cash remittances to their families.

“We want to facilitate the cross-border exchange of money for both senders and beneficiaries all over the world,” said John Kun- ze, Xoom vice president. “Traditionally, the remittance industry has been served by systems that are inefficient and leave the onus primarily on senders. With the new ‘request’ feature, control is in the hands of remittance beneficiaries who now have a central digital service to manage this line of financial support that is so critical to their daily lives.”

Aside from requesting money, Filipino Xoom us- ers can also easily request for reloads for Globe, Smart and Sun prepaid mobile phones and bills payment for PLDT and Smart postpaid mobile phones.

Xoom’s cash pickup network is the most extensive in the Philippines, and partners include trusted names like Cebuana Lhuillier, M. Lhuillier, all major banks like BDO and Metrobank, LBC and Globe G-Cash.