Online payment giant PayPal has unveiled Xoom, an international payment product for the UK and 31 other European markets.
PayPal acquired the digital money transfer provider in 2015 for an approximate $890m.
The product has been designed as an alternative to traditional remittance services, allowing the 9.3m people who were born outside but live in the UK to send money, pay bills or top up phones.
Last year the global remittance market reached $689bn, with Britons remitting over $26 billion annually.
It has led to new tech-enabled remittance businesses entering the marketing, including WorldRemit, which raised $175m in its latest funding round.
According to the latest figures from the World Bank, 45 per cent of all money transfers from the UK are sent to Nigeria, India, Pakistan, China, Kenya and the Philippines, the six largest non-European receivers of remittances from the United Kingdom.
The introduction of Xoom usually allows recipients to receive money sent to a bank account or for cash pick up in approximately five minutes.
Dan Schulman, PayPal’s CEO and president, said: “The way we move and manage our money has changed dramatically in the last few years. We have moved beyond the days when the only option for sending money abroad was to queue at a counter for hours.
“But even in 2019, it still takes too long to get money from the United Kingdom to a loved one in another country. We know how important these money transfers are in the lives of millions of people, and how crucial it is that money arrives swiftly and more securely so it can be used for things that matter.
“With Xoom, someone with a smartphone on a bus in London can send money that can be accessed within minutes in Mumbai to pay for a family member’s medical emergency or to keep the lights on for their family back home.”