Last Updated on October, 2024
Is Xoom really as safe and pocket-friendly as it once was for sending money?
Is Xoom legit? Is it Safe to connect to the bank account?
What are the actual fees and limitations of Xoom?
This is the ultimate to-the-point Xoom review if you seek answers to these questions. I have covered everything you MUST know before choosing Xoom, including the questions above and much more.
At the end of this review, you can decide whether Xoom is suitable for your money transfer service.
But wait, why trust me?
Contents
- Why Trust Me?
- What is Xoom Exactly? How Does it Work?
- Is Xoom Safe?
- The Difference Between Paypal and Xoom
- Average Duration to Receive Money From Xoom
- About Xoom App
- Complete Analysis of Xoom’s Ease-of-Use Features
- Documents You Need for a Xoom Personal Account
- Payment Limits for Xoom
- Simple Guide: How to Send Money With Xoom Service
- International Transfer With Xoom
- Xoom Pricing Breakdown
- Xoom Customer Reviews at a Glance
- Xoom Support
- Xoom Pros and Cons
- Xoom Vs. Competitors: An Overview
- Conclusion: Is Xoom Recommendable?
- FAQs: Xoom Review
Why Trust Me?
I have been sending money using Xoom since 2007 and have seen the platform go through all sorts of changes with world digitization — this is pretty much a detailed pro-customer review.
Additionally, I searched for the latest information from Xoom sources. I also read several Reddit and Quora threads, especially TrustPilot, to follow up on the newest customer experiences.
To triple-check, I also read several other reviews on the topic, not missing YouTube.
That’s why this Xoom review really is the most comprehensive.
Without further ado, let’s start: what is Xoom, and how does it work?
What is Xoom Exactly? How Does it Work?
Xoom is a PayPal Company that lets you send money internationally (and locally) from the USA, Canada, Europe, and the UK to 130+ countries.
It offers various options for sending money, including:
You can quickly pay utility bills in these 10 countries: Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Jamaica, Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, and Vietnam.
I’ll explain the how-to guides in later sections; keep reading.
Is Xoom Safe?
Yes, Xoom is very safe.
Xoom implements regular checks and audits in place to spot and fix vulnerabilities. So, don’t be surprised if you get frequent app updates; it’s to tighten the security with each update, with overall platform improvement.
The platform operates proprietary compliance and anti-fraud policies and procedures mandated by the Bank Secrecy Act, the USA Patriot Act. and other laws and regulations.
After all, Xoom has been PayPal-owned since 2015, transferring close to $ 10 B annually with over 250 million customers, unlike several other money transfer providers.
The Difference Between Paypal and Xoom
Because Xoom is PayPal-owned, its services are integrated. This lets you use bank accounts and credit and debit cards directly connected to your PayPal account.
However, there are clear differences between PayPal and Xoom:
Average Duration to Receive Money From Xoom
Money transfer speed in Xoom is heavily dependent on two factors: location and method.
The fastest method is transfers done by credit or debit card or the PayPal balance, as they’re almost immediate. The recipient is highly likely to get the money within a few minutes.
Conversely, reaching the recipient can take two to three business days if you choose an Xoom money transfer via a bank.
The average money transfer duration will drop further if you’re sending money from the US to Canada or Mexico for one day or less.
Even with a bank transfer from Mexico to Malta, it might take three or more days.
About Xoom App
Xoom’s mobile app is available for both Android and Apple devices.
Xoom app is one of the safest and most user-friendly financial apps. It is rated at 4.8/5 stars with over 1 million ratings on Apple’s App Store and 4.8/5 stars with over 5 million ratings.
These ratings are impressive when you compare Xoom with competitors.
Since Xoom is a worldwide platform, it’s admirable of them to make the app available in multiple languages. Xoom app’s languages include English, Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
Complete Analysis of Xoom’s Ease-of-Use Features
Sending Money
As I mentioned at the start, Xoom is built mainly to send money. You can do this using your PayPal balance, debit card, or even the digital wallet.
You can also send money to be picked up by a location affiliated with Xoom; for this, there will be a fee.
Although I did say most money transfers will take somewhere between a few minutes and a few days, here’s what depends on:
Money transfer fees depend on the recipient’s country, transfer method (bank transfer, etc), and the transferred amount. You should also know that the credit card issuer might charge a separate fee when you send funds using a credit card.
Receiving Money
Recipients can receive money from over 70 countries worldwide faster and safer via Xoom.
It’s up to the sender and the recipient to decide whether to receive the money to your debit card or bank account, pick it up, or deliver it.
The receiver doesn’t have to spend a penny as all costs are fulfilled by the sender.
Top-Up Mobile Phone Accounts
Another advantage of Xoom over PayPal is that you can top-up (or reload) your phone or any other phone number in dozens of countries.
Xoom enables this via a company called DT One, which specializes in providing digital infrastructure for money transfer and FinTech businesses. It was founded in 2005 and upholds overall quality and security consistently.
To top-up a phone number:
And your account should top up just like that.
Paying Bills
Paying bills is made easier and safer with Xoom. You can pay water, electricity, phone, internet, and cable bills with Xoom under one condition.
International payments are possible in only eight countries: Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, and Nicaragua. This also means that you cannot pay bills in the US, which I understand is a downside.
Tracking Transactions
In my experience, tracking transactions hasn’t been pleasant in the past with some Xoom competitors. Xoom, conversely, sends you automatic transactional updates by text if you enable push notifications and choose ‘get text updates’ following a transaction confirmation.
When you click on any transaction on the list, tap “activity” to check their status quickly.
Saving and Pay for Repetitive Contacts
Do you have contacts that needs regular/repetitive payments? Xoom makes it easier.
Here’s how to save and pay for repetitive contacts:
With that covered, let’s look at the documents you need for an Xoom account.
Documents You Need for a Xoom Personal Account
Xoom is praised for its high level of pay security. Most of the negative reviews for Xoom are because the users haven’t complied with the platform’s security layers.
You shouldn’t make these silly mistakes that restrict your experience, especially with international payments.
For instance, without the documents, your transactional limit will stay in the range of $6000 to $9999 over six months. You can increase these limits and strengthen your Xoom account’s security by providing the necessary documents.
US residents need to provide the following:
Don’t be alarmed if Xoom customer service asks you a few security questions about your transfer.
You can expect questions like:
These questions ensure Xoom isn’t misused for illegal activities that can easily bypass online transactional platforms.
Payment Limits for Xoom
The maximum amount you’re allowed to send with Xoom is $2999 daily in the US. As I mentioned before, the payment limits without documentation will stay in the range of $6000 to $9999 over six months.
I advise verifying with Xoom, as that will increase the security of your Xoom account and your transactions.
Simple Guide: How to Send Money With Xoom Service
Let me break down the money transferring process with Xoom simply:
Remember that Xoom gives you a money-back guarantee within 30 minutes of authorizing your transaction.
International Transfer With Xoom
As I said earlier, Xoom allows you to send money if you live in the US, Canada, the UK, and most countries in the European Economic Area.
Let’s look at a few countries just to give you an idea of how convenient and diverse Xoom’s international network is.
Money Transfering to Colombia With Xoom
Xoom allows you to send money to someone’s bank account in Colombia, including but not limited to Cali, Bogota, Medellin, and Cartagena.
If the recipient uses significant banks in Colombia, such as Bancolombia, HSBC, BBVA, and Banco Popular, it’s even more accessible. Xoom is also compatible with the partner networks of the said banks, including Carulla, Exito, Davivienda, and Pagos Internacionales.
You can also top-up mobile phones on several Colombian networks such as Claro, Moviestar, Tigo, Avantel, or Virgin Mobile.
For monet transfers, Xoom has more than 2500 cash pickup locations around Colombia.
Money Transfer to Guatemala With Xoom
Xoom’s Guatemala network is diverse, not limited to Banrural, Banco Industrial, and even El Gallo más Gallo.
You can also send money to Guatemalan banks, including but not limited to Banco G&T Continental, Banco Industrial, and Banrural. You can also top-up phone numbers on Moviestar, Claro, and Tigo networks.
Xoom users also can pay EEGSA and Energuate bills.
Additionally, Xoom boasts large cash pickup locations, as high as over 9500 in Guatemala.
Money Transfer to Mexico With Xoom
Xoom’s compatibility with Mexican money transfers is sky-high, with more than 37000 agent locations. These include and aren’t limited to Walmart, Farmacias Guadalajara, OXXO, Soriana, and Elektra.
You can also send money to all significant Mexican banks, including Banca Azteca, BBVA Bancomer, BanCopeel, Banorte, and BanCoppel.
Suppose the recipient’s phone number belongs to any network such as Claro, Telcel, Movistar, Iusacell, Nextel, or Unefon. In that case, You can also pay for several bill types belonging to companies like Telenor, IZZF, Telmex, Iusacell, gasNatural, and even Dish).
Money Transfer to Vietnam With Xoom
Xoom is a safe transfer and payment method in the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia, where Vietnam is located.
For this, you get over 1700 pickup locations throughout the country. Xoom users can also send money to account holders in banks such as Vietcombank, Sacombank, DongA, and Vietinbank within minutes.
Home delivery can be done on the same day if preferred.
Phone reloading is also possible with networks such as Beeline, Mobifone, Vietnamobile, Viettel, and Vinaphone. Xoom also allows you to pay utility bills such as VNPT and EVNHANOI.
With that covered, let’s look at Xoom’s pricing breakdown next.
Xoom Pricing Breakdown
Xoom belongs to a particular market segment with the highest security and transferable amounts with the lowest fees. Remember that cash pickups are cheaper when money is transferred to bank accounts and debit cards.
Xoom Fees
Xoom’s app is 100% free; pricing and fees apply only for transactions.
Xoom’s pricing typically depends on:
Generally, fixed pricing doesn’t apply for large bank transfers, typically over $1000; it applies only to smaller transactions. For instance, if you send somewhere around $500-$750 from the US to an Indian bank, there will be a fixed price of $4.99.
Additionally, you might have to pay a variable commission fee for debit and credit card payments. This fee may vary between 2.9%-3.3% of the transactional value.
Xoom Exchange Rates
The second transfer price comes with the mid-market exchange rate. If you’re unfamiliar, the mid-market exchange rate is basically being charged the difference between the “real” exchange rate and the rate that Xoom decided.
This difference is the ‘Exchange Rate Margin’ and is a percentage.
Why Xoom Exchange Rates are Low
Xoom’s exchange rates are low because they include a currency conversion spread. They’re very upfront about a fee included in the exchange rates used.
Having low exchange rates can benefit in most cases. For instance, some providers may offer a broader range of currencies for low exchange rates, which can be beneficial if you need to send money to a specific country.
Xoom Customer Reviews at a Glance
My go-to destination for real and latest customer reviews is TrustPilot. Here’s a glimpse of what Xoom customers say.
I just transferred money to my bank account in Spain which I do several times a year for travel purposes. Great service. Never had an issue.
John G from the US certifies Xoom as a problem-free and dependable money transfer service emphasizing its international money transferring convenience.
I have used Xoom for over three years and found their service exemplary! Some (or many) people have had disappointing experiences. But apparently, those with positive experiences don’t bother with writing reviews.
Jhinuk Chowdhury points out a special point that we miss; “those with positive experiences don’t bother writing reviews,” and it applies to Xoom, too. He doesn’t want to risk moving away from Xoom even if he has found another company with better exchange rates.
Special note: wherever you read negative feedback, ensure the user discloses their degree of security compliance. This isn’t WhatsApp; Xoom takes strict measures to protect the platform. Take your verifications seriously.
Xoom Support
Even if I’ve been on Xoom for a long time, I wanted to test how good (or bad) Xoom support is. I was more than pleasantly surprised.
Xoom offers customer support via calls or email. Calls from the US and Canada via Xoom’s toll-free numbers are handled between 9 AM to 9 PM daily. Representatives typically speak English, Spanish, and even Filipino.
Conversely, Email support is offered in English or Spanish 24 hours daily.
My Test With Xoom Support
The automated menu pops up when you call the number, and it’s standard. Once I requested a customer rep, it took me less than one minute. She was speaking in English, and she answered a set of specific questions. I wanted to check the customer representative’s knowledge, and she didn’t let me down.
Next, let’s look at Xoom’s pros and cons.
Xoom Pros and Cons
Xoom is filled with advantages and strong suits. However, even for Xoom, there’s a downside or two, and let’s discuss them next.
Pros
Cons
Xoom Vs. Competitors: An Overview
Some of Xoom’s top competitors are Wise, MoneyGram, Square, and Remitly.
Let’s make a quick comparison between each across two key variables.
Xoom Vs. Wise
Xoom Vs. MoneyGram
Xoom Vs. Square
Xoom Vs. Remitly
Other online bank reviews and comparisons:
Conclusion: Is Xoom Recommendable?
Xoom is a PayPal service that makes local and international money transfers a reality with the lowest fees, user-friendliness, and safety.
As a well-reputed organization since its inception in 2011, Xoom continues to improve in multiple aspects, which eventually helps its users and people worldwide.
As a long-term Xoom user, I would recommend the platform based on the facts we discussed. You only have to be careful with compliance aspects as Xoom takes them seriously, being PayPal-compliant.
I hope this review was helpful. Feel free to share this with your friends and family to raise awareness on Xoom.
FAQs: Xoom Review
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