Xoom Corporation (NASDAQ: XOOM), a digital money transfer provider, announced a collaboration with TransferTo, a global hub for international airtime credit and mobile money transmission, that allows Xoom customers to recharge international prepaid mobile phones in 22 countries, including India, Mexico, the Philippines and more.
Xoom provides an easy, convenient and cost-effective way for customers to send international money transfers from their mobile phones, tablets or computers. Through this new collaboration with TransferTo, Xoom customers can instantly send airtime credit online from the U.S. to international prepaid mobile phones.
“We are delighted to provide Xoom with the capability to offer an additional remittance option to their customers – instant recharge for international prepaid mobile phones,” said Eric Barbier, CEO of TransferTo. “Through our network of mobile operator relationships across the world, backed by our offices in San Francisco, London, Singapore, Dubai, Miami, Barcelona, and El Salvador, TransferTo has the international footprint to deliver this cost-effective and crucially-reliable remittance option. Xoom customers can send small amounts of mobile credit to more of their loved one’s back home using just their mobile phone number,” added Barbier.
“Thanks to TransferTo’s cutting-edge technology and global presence, we are able to quickly and conveniently launch international mobile phone recharge to most of the countries where we send money. TransferTo’s customizable solutions provided Xoom with the flexibility to adapt the service to our needs,” said John Kunze, Xoom’s President and CEO. “With mobile recharge, Xoom expands its offerings, enabling customers to support more loved ones with less hassle and a smaller fee,” added Kunze.
The market for international airtime top up is large. Last year, Juniper Research estimated that of $10 billion USD sent annually between cell phones, over half was through sending airtime. Through its partnership with TransferTo, Xoom is expanding its remittance service portfolio which now includes money transfer, bill payment and mobile recharge, and is satisfying customer needs and generating loyalty to the brand.
Across most developing markets, mobile phones are as essential to people’s lives as they are in advanced economies, but most phones in lower- and middle-income countries are prepaid. Airtime top ups are vital to how people communicate and do business. Sending international airtime credit is a safe and secure way of delivering something very valuable, at a very low cost, into the hands of the recipient, without needing much more than their phone number.
