Press Conference in Toronto for new Money Transfer company

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Like a bolt of lighting, PayPal’s Xoom jumps out of the starting blocks on Tuesday in Toronto

By Stephen Weir

PayPal fired a bolt over the bow of Jamaica’s GraceKennedy Currency Trading Services (Western Union).  Yesterday PayPal’s money transfer company, Xoom launched a new Canadian service by announcing it had just signed eight-time Olympic Jamaican gold medalist Usain Bolt as its global brand ambassador.

“At Xoom, we’re deeply committed to delivering the fastest possible money transfer experience to our customers, so Mr. Bolt was a natural fit to be our global brand ambassador,” Julian King, Vice President and General Manager of Xoom told the Caribbean Camera at the company’s Canadian launch.

“We look forward to working with Mr. Bolt during an exciting time as we expand our services. He will be appearing in our marketing materials and representing us at selected events,” King continued. “Is he coming to Canada? Nothing that I can announce ….  just yet!”

 On Tuesday PayPal and Xoom hosted a packed late morning press briefing in a conference room at the Bayview Mall in North Toronto. In addition to announcing the hiring of Usain Bolt, PayPal and Xoom laid out to the media what the companies are bringing to Canada.

Xoom’s owner, PayPal, is an American company operating a worldwide online payments system that supports online money transfers. The young company’s services are an electronic alternative to moving money using traditional paper methods like cheques and money orders

The press were told that Canadian immigrants can now use Xoom to quickly and securely send money, pay bills and reload phones for loved ones living in more than 130 countries globally, including all Caribbean islands except one!  “ No, you can’t use Xoom to transfer money to Cuba. We don’t have any partners on the island, and we are a US based company!”

Using a Smart phone, tablet or desktop computer, Canadians can use Xoom to send money on-line fast and line-up free to friends and family members around the world.  Media at the press conference were shown how a Xoom phone app could take money from Canada to the Caribbean in less than 30-seconds.

Xoom allows users to send up to $12,500 CAD in a single transaction to the Caribbean, and multiple transactions can be made in a single day. Senders choose from a number options: deposit money to a bank account, send cash for pick-up or have cash delivered directly to the recipient’s door.

According to PayPal, this is one of the world’s most diverse countries and is home to more than 7.5 million foreign-born people from more than 200 countries. Canadian immigrant families send nearly $24 billion annually to support family and friends back home.

Mr. King photo by sweir

Julian King is a Jamaican American based in California and understands how important money transfers are to the economy of the Caribbean.  He believes that Xoom will be able to gain a foothold in the business of moving P-to-P (person to person) money by offering low service charges, competitive currency exchange rates and guaranteeing all transactions.

Hiring Jamaica’s favourite son makes a bold statement one that Western Union, the world’s leading money transfer company, is sure to hear.  But it will take more than a famous runner to overtake Western Union’s grip on the Caribbean. Back in 2014, the company’s 25^th anniversary in Jamaica, Western Union moved the equivalent of more than US$14 billion into Jamaica in collaboration with GraceKennedy Money Services.

PayPals launches Xoom in Canada - international money transfer service

PayPal launches Xoom, a fast and secure international money transfer service to make sending money back home easier for Canadian immigrants

- PayPal introduces Xoom, a fast way to send money, pay bills and reload phones to more than 130 countries, including Jamaica, at competitive ra

TORONTO, December 11, 2018 – Today, PayPal launched Xoom, its international money transfer service in Canada. Canadian immigrants can now use Xoom to quickly and securely send money, pay bills and reload phones fast for loved ones living in more than 130 countries globally, including Jamaica. To send money abroad in a few simple steps, download Xoom’s mobile app on Android and iOS or go to Xoom.com. Canadian immigrant families remit nearly $24 billion[i] annually to support family and friends back home.

 “At Xoom, we are focused on making the process of sending money home to loved ones in another country fast and convenient for hardworking immigrants. Sending money abroad is often expensive and time consuming,” said Julian King, Xoom’s Vice President and General Manager. “Bringing Xoom’s digital remittance services to Canada will help eliminate these inconveniences so it’s fast and easy for Canadians to send bank deposits, reload prepaid phones and pay bills to support loved ones back home.”

Canada is one of the world’s most diverse countries and is home to more than 7.5 million foreign-born people from more than 200 places of birth[ii]. Introducing PayPal’s Xoom will benefit more than one in five people living in Canada – many of whom support family members overseas for things like medical bills, education, utility bills and other financial needs.

Xoom offers fast money transfer services abroad to more than 130 countries, including Jamaica, many with limited access to digital remittance services, offering fast options including: cash pickup, bank deposits, bill pays and reload of prepaid phones. Xoom customers can also enjoy high send amounts in a single transaction, at competitive rates to conveniently send large bank deposits wherever they are, whenever they want, using only a mobile phone. 

Cost-effective digital money transfer services for a global market

Canadians can now send up to $12,500 CAD in a single transaction[iii] to Jamaica. For send money transactions, depending on the receiver country, users can choose from a range of options: deposit money to a bank account, send cash for pick-up or have cash delivered directly to their recipient’s door.

Xoom transfers can be tracked quickly and easily via text updates, email notifications or directly from the mobile app and website. Those who send money abroad can get their questions answered from customer support staff in English, French, Spanish and Filipino.

Xoom partners with highly credible banks and partners around the world to provide fast, secure and affordable money transfers. According to the ‘Migration and Remittances’ April 2018 report by the World Bank, globally, the top three receiver remittance countries are India, China and the Philippines. Xoom provides money transfer services to these key corridors in addition to the UK, Eurozone and many other countries in Eastern Europe and Africa.

Historically, the cost of securely and efficiently managing and moving money across borders has been high but advances in digital technology—in particular mobile—are enabling a significant reduction in remittances costs. Sending money overseas through a digital service like Xoom costs nearly half (3.93%) of the amount sent compared to the average cost of traditional remittances services (7.45%)[iv]

“Two billion people around the world are underserved by traditional financial institutions. Some must stand in line for over an hour just to cash a cheque,” adds King. “With Xoom, Canadians can now get a fast, painless and secure way to support loved ones back home.”

With this launch, PayPal and Xoom are helping to improve the financial health of Canadians and millions of people worldwide. Xoom’s increased presence in North America is an important milestone, signifying PayPal’s goal of democratizing the management and movement of money for people globally.

 

About PayPal

Fueled by a fundamental belief that having access to financial services creates opportunity, PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) is committed to democratizing financial services and empowering people and businesses to join and thrive in the global economy. Our open digital payments platform gives PayPal’s 254 million active account holders the confidence to connect and transact in new and powerful ways, whether they are online, on a mobile device, in an app, or in person. Through a combination of technological innovation and strategic partnerships, PayPal creates better ways to manage and move money, and offers choice and flexibility when sending payments, paying or getting paid. Available in more than 200 markets around the world, the PayPal platform, including Braintree, Venmo and Xoom, enables consumers and merchants to receive money in more than 100 currencies, withdraw funds in 56 currencies and hold balances in their PayPal accounts in 25 currencies. For more information on PayPal Canada visit www.paypal.ca.

 Media Contacts

Malini Mitra                                                       

PayPal Canada 

416-408-5793 

malini.mitra@paypal.com   

Nicole Aikman-Smith

Marnic Solutions

905-267-8397

nicoleaikman@gmail.com

Issued by Stephen Weir December 11, 2018

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[i] Source: World Bank’s latest Migration and Development Brief.

[ii] Source: Immigrant population in Canada, 2016 Census of Population by Stats Canada

[iii] Subject to Know Your Customer requirements. Sending more than $10,000 CAD in 24 hours takes additional days. The speed of transaction is dependent on partner processing hours, good funds availability, approval by Xoom’s proprietary verification system, and our partner’s systems availability. May not be available for all transactions.

[iv] Source: Xoom, Digital Remittances: Enhancing Financial Health for Families around the World whitepaper, 2017

Bringing a Voice To The Forgotten-Seven Fallen Feathers

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2018 RBC Charles Taylor Prize Finalist

By KJ Mullins, Newz4U

Toronto Star investigative reporter Tanya Talaga's investigation into the 2011 death of teenager Jordan Wabasse opened the door for a horror show of questions. Why is there inequality in the standards of First Nations schools. Why was there negligence on the part of the Canadian Government into the disappearance and death of a First Nations' student?

A journalist job is to dig and Tanya is one of Canada’s best. She began delving into ta student death in Thunder Bay and found the broken trail of six more student deaths. The result of that research is her first book, the current #1 non-fiction book in Canada, Seven Fallen Feathers.  The explosive expose is shortlisted for the 2018 RBC Charles Taylor Prize.

Racism and discrimination from the government level to the street is an everyday occurrence for Native People in Thunder Bay. In her award-winning book Seven Fallen Feathers journalist Tanya Talaga examines the deaths of seven young people who moved from reservations in Northern Ontario to Thunder Bay to attend high school.

Talaga's journey to uncover their stories shows a nation that is guilty of neglecting their own children and until now getting away with it. The last death took place in 2011; unfortunately the story is as current today as it was seven years ago. One need look no further than this month’s trial concerning the death of Colten Boushie hammers home the injustices that still befall First Nations people.

Jordan Wabasse. Kyle Morrisseau. Reggie Bushie. Jethro Anderson. Paul Panacheese. Curran Strang. Robyn Harper.

Each of these young people is connected to each other by death. They are all victims of an educational system that is sub-par in a nation that prides itself on its higher learning. They were Canadian children, living in third world conditions on lands that have been destroyed, the reservations. The how and the why of how they died remains a mystery. The cases were plagued by police bias and racial profiling. City authorities closed their eyes and stood still instead of conducting investigations that would have taken place if the victims hadn’t died in Thunder Bay and were not from First Nations communities.

Tanya Talaga

Author Tanya Talaga's Seven Fallen Feathers brings to light the continuing injustices that First Nations people face every single day, from the broken treaties to governmental promises, she tells the stories of the seven young lives that were lost. Each one of the dead attended Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School(DFC), a private school in Thunder Bay that hosts students from several Sioux Lookout District First Nations reserves.

The stories in Talaga's book “echoes the tragedies that are mirrored across Canada.” The educational issues that children face in Northern Ontario reservations are the same throughout  most of Canada. Student funding is in some cases as much as $6,000(per student) less for Native schools than for other schools in the same area.  Often First Nations children attend school in classrooms filled with mould, dirty water and a lack of resources. Many youths who want a proper high school education must leave home and family in order to attend Grade 9 and beyond. In Northern Ontario, most students attend DFC. 

In each of the seven deaths, the Thunder Bay Police Department failed to notify parents in a timely matter that their children were missing. When the bodies were recovered sub-par forensic investigations took place giving no real detail in how the children died. Considering that several of the boys who died in water were strong swimmers and their bodies were recovered with signs of trauma, it shocking to read that only a basic autopsies were performed on a number of the dead. Currently, Thunder Bay Police are under review for 40 investigations dating back to the 1990s by Ontario's Office of the Independent Police Review. Almost all of these new cases deal with Indigenous deaths.

 

Tanya Talaga signs books at Ben McNally Books

According to Talaga DFC tries to do right by their students. There is an on-site Elder for spiritual guidance and dedicated teachers whose jobs don't end when the final bell rings. Teachers struggle mightly to fit the needs of students whose prior education at the primary level has left them years behind the educational curve.

During the hours between classes many of the young people (most who have never lived away from their families), are on their own. Drugs and alcohol become a part of their lives as they try to fit into a culture that is rife with prejudice.

While the current government administration is working to make improvements for First Nations people Talaga says that “I am hopeful for the future but this will take generations to correct. The education problem is nation-wide, only when First Nations children are treated fairly with equality will this be solved.”

Talaga said that she had no idea how her book would be perceived when she started writing it. She has found that educators are her biggest champions giving praise to her research that shows a shameful side of modern Canada. She asks w how it is that children have been cast aside and made to endure substandard living and educational conditions.

This is a story that every Canadian should be aware of but Talaga has found, “unless you are living the story you don't know the story.” With Seven Fallen Feathers the truth has been brought to life, and the voices of Jordan, Kyle, Reggie, Jethro, Paul, Curran and Robyn are heard long and clear.

The RBC Taylor Prize winner will be revealed at a gala luncheon on Monday, February 26, 2018.

Ride That Train - Mayor and Federal MP have climbed on board

Editor's Note - Mayor JOHN TORY and CELINA CAESAR-CHAVANNES

Member of Parliament, Whitby will be attending the Freedom Train Ride event on Monday evening - sweir

Drummers on the 2016 Train Ride

Emancipation Day

Fifth Annual Freedom Train Ride to Downsview

10.45 pm Start

Zanana Akande honourary conductor

Underground Freedom Train Monday July 31st Toronto

Please join the community on Monday, July 31st at 10:45pm at Toronto’s Union subway station as we celebrate Emancipation Day. We will be boarding the Underground Freedom Train at 11:30pm and travelling straight to Sheppard West subway station (previously Downsview station), arriving there at 12:15am on August 1st, which is internationally acclaimed as Emancipation Day. 
This year’s fifth annual Freedom Train ride will be an incredible journey and experience about the Underground Railroad and the history of Emancipation Day as Canada celebrates 150 years since independence. Opening ceremonies will begin at 10:45pm at Union subway station. People will gather by the Brookfield Rotunda TTC entrance on the main floor. Opening ceremonies will be completed by 11:15pm and we will then prepare to start boarding the Freedom Train which will depart Union Station at 11:45pm.
The train ride will include a moment of silence as we board the train, drumming, spoken word and songs, along with a tribute to the resilience of the many who travelled along the Underground Railway, seeking freedom in Canada.
Zanana Akande, community matriarch and advocate, who was the first Black woman elected to the Ontario legislative assembly and also serve as a cabinet minister in Canada, will be honoured as this year’s train conductor. Also featured this year, will be Meridian Ashamock, a young Cree high school student and visual artist, Baro Dununba and Friends African drumming ensemble and the Ubuntu drumming and dance ensemble. 
We will also be unveiling a commemorative plaque that will recognize the work of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters that will be mounted at Union Station, once the renovations are completed. The plaque is being sponsored by the Coalition of Black Trade Unions that has been a leading supporter of the Underground Freedom Train Ride series, since inception.
Everyone is welcome to join us on this Underground Freedom Train Ride to celebrate Emancipation Day. People will need a TTC ticket/token/transfer for admission and come prepared for quite the ride. Fifth annual Underground Freedom Train Ride t-shirts are available for purchase at A Different Booklist store, prior to the ride. Further information - available at A Different Booklist 416-538-0889 or by following us on twitter @FreedomTrainTOR.

photo - drummers on the train, 2016

 For further info Media contact

Organizer Itah Sadu

 A Different Booklist

 itahsadu@rogers.com 

416-538-0889

 

or me at: 

STEPHEN WEIR
Stephen Weir & Associates | stephen@stephenweir.com 
109 Castlefield Avenue, Toronto, ON
CANADA. M4R 1G5
Tel: 416-489-5868 | cell: 416-801-3101 
www.stephenweir.com twitter: sweirsweir