DO you have a relative in the United States? Are you short on your holiday spree and left with the arduous task of asking for some extra?
Well, worry no more, as a new PayPal service has been made available in the country to solve just that.
Xoom, a leading digital money transfer provider, launched a new feature for remittance beneficiaries in 29 countries, including the Philippines marking the first time users outside the US can ‘request’ for money transfer, bill payment or mobile reload.
Launched in countries across Latin America, Europe and Asia, including the Philippines, 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 was made available beginning in the busy Yuletide season, which traditionally sees the highest number of remittances made by overseas Filipinos to their families.
It has been reported by the Central Bank of the Philippines that personal remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers have reached US$7.2 billion in the first quarter of this year, which is higher by 4.3% as compared to the same period in 2015. The steady demand for overseas workers 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.
Aside from requesting money, Filipino Xoom users can also easily request for reloads for Globe, Smart and Sun prepaid mobile phones and bills payment for PLDT ans Smart postpaid mobile phones.
It offers Request Money, Request Mobile Reload and Request Bill Pay. The website also features an easy-to-access interface, and plans for an app is also under works as bared by Pia Guter, Xoom’s Director of Marketing for the Philippines among many other improvement during video conference call at the Makati Diamond Residences Hotel.
Officially launched on Oct. 24 and went live mid-November, Xoom is getting hundreds of request per day and expects the trend to continue well beyond Christmas season, execs say. Hundreds of sign-ups were made from the Philippines alone.
Although the feature is only essentially a one-way process which only lets US residents to send money, proponents say they are looking into further improvements to beef-up the service.
Filipinos also need not worry as Xoom’s cash pickup network is the most extensive in the Philippines and partners include trusted names like Cebuana Lhuillier, M. Lhuillier, BDO, Metrobank, and all major banks, LBC and Globe G-cash.
Senders can safely and securely send money to their loved ones, and beneficiaries can go to any of the partner branches for cash pickup at their convenience.