PayPal hopes to launch Xoom in Cuba before the end of the year

PayPal hopes to launch Xoom in Cuba before the end of the year
By Keith Nelson Jr.

President Barack Obama brought along a number of tech companies on his
historic trip to Cuba this week, and PayPal was among them. In a recent
blog post, PayPal president Dan Schulman wrote that PayPal's global
money transferring service Xoom will hopefully launch in Cuba by the end
of the year.
President Obama's visit to Cuba, the first for a sitting president since
Calvin Coolidge in 1928, is the result of the United States
re-establishing diplomatic relations with Cuba last July.
While in Cuba, Schulman and executives from companies such as Priceline,
Stripe, and Google's parent company Alphabet met with Cuban
entrepreneurs. Schulman attests the billions of dollars Cuba receives
annually from remittances will be Xoom's entry into the country.
Remittances are money sent for goods, services or gifts, the basis of
money transferring services such as PayPal's Venmo and Western Union.
Each year, Cuba receives $2 billion in remittances from the United States.
Xoom allows people to send money to one another across the world and
have it directly deposited into the recipient's bank account. PayPal
completed its acquisition of Xoom in November 2015 and Schulman
described launching Xoom in Cuba as a "natural first step" in the blog
post. "Introducing these money transfer services will not only foster
financial inclusion," Schulman wrote "but they can have a positive
impact on the day to day quality of life — eliminating long lines and
fostering greater choice in this community."
You have to crawl before you walk, though. In an interview with
Bloomberg, Schulman admitted that while trade between the U.S. and Cuba
is being discussed, it still has a ways to go. "Both the U.S. government
and Cuban government are still establishing the guidelines for exactly
how trade is to be conducted." The U.S. has had an embargo on all trades
with Cuba since President Dwight Eisenhower instituted one on October
19, 1960.
PayPal is talking with Cuban authorities and the U.S. Treasury
Department to "help expedite" the company's availability in Cuba. Xoom
is currently available in 42 countries around the world.
President Barack Obama brought along a number of tech companies on his
historic trip to Cuba this week, and PayPal was among them. In a recent
blog post, PayPal president Dan Schulman wrote that PayPal's global
money transferring service Xoom will hopefully launch in Cuba by the end
of the year.

President Obama's visit to Cuba, the first for a sitting president since
Calvin Coolidge in 1928, is the result of the United States
re-establishing diplomatic relations with Cuba last July.

While in Cuba, Schulman and executives from companies such as Priceline,
Stripe, and Google's parent company Alphabet met with Cuban
entrepreneurs. Schulman attests the billions of dollars Cuba receives
annually from remittances will be Xoom's entry into the country.
Remittances are money sent for goods, services or gifts, the basis of
money transferring services such as PayPal's Venmo and Western Union.
Each year, Cuba receives $2 billion in remittances from the United States.

Related: Now anyone can book an Airbnb stay in Cuba

Xoom allows people to send money to one another across the world and
have it directly deposited into the recipient's bank account. PayPal
completed its acquisition of Xoom in November 2015 and Schulman
described launching Xoom in Cuba as a "natural first step" in the blog
post. "Introducing these money transfer services will not only foster
financial inclusion," Schulman wrote "but they can have a positive
impact on the day to day quality of life — eliminating long lines and
fostering greater choice in this community."

You have to crawl before you walk, though. In an interview with
Bloomberg, Schulman admitted that while trade between the U.S. and Cuba
is being discussed, it still has a ways to go. "Both the U.S. government
and Cuban government are still establishing the guidelines for exactly
how trade is to be conducted." The U.S. has had an embargo on all trades
with Cuba since President Dwight Eisenhower instituted one on October
19, 1960.

PayPal is talking with Cuban authorities and the U.S. Treasury
Department to "help expedite" the company's availability in Cuba. Xoom
is currently available in 42 countries around the world.

Now anyone can book an Airbnb stay in Cuba
Obama says Google will start offering Internet access in Cuba
Here's the catch with those new U.S. flights to Cuba (and how to get
there anyway)

Source: PayPal hopes to launch Xoom in Cuba before the end of the year -
Yahoo News -
http://news.yahoo.com/cubans-may-paypal-access-end-200422333.html;_ylt=AwrC0F9WMvRWyCcA.FbQtDMD;_ylu=X3oDMTByNXM5bzY5BGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMzBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzcg--