Xoom, PayPal’s international money transfer service, announced on Tuesday it may now send secure and convenient money transfers directly to mobile wallets in markets across Africa with a focus on the underbanked segment. Xoom reported that the new service expands the company’s offering to send money to mobile wallets in Burundi, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, with plans to include more markets in 2021.
Xoom describes itself as a fast and secure way to send money, pay bills and reload phones for loved ones in over 160 countries globally. These remittances serve as a lifeline for many people around the world and are used to pay for things like utility bills, healthcare, education costs, and emergencies. While sharing details about the expansion, Julian King, Vice President and General Manager of Xoom
“Sending money to Africa through traditional channels has always been expensive. We wanted to help bring down the cost and speed up the process to boost financial inclusion, There is nowhere else in the world that moves more money on mobile phones than Sub-Saharan Africa. While there are only five bank branches per 100,000 people as of 20192, there are 1.04 billion registered mobile money accounts in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
Xoom further added that by providing fast and secure payment options for customers to “seamlessly” send money to Africa by using a mobile device, it and PayPal are helping to expand and improve the financial health of millions of people in the African continent.
