• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechPayPal Holdings

PayPal Brings Money Transfers to Cuba

By
Leena Rao
Leena Rao
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Leena Rao
Leena Rao
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 21, 2016, 11:45 AM ET
EBay Plans To Split Off PayPal As Mobile Payments Gain Momentum
PayPal signage is displayed in front of eBay Inc. headquarters in San Jose, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014. EBay Inc. is spinning off its PayPal division, heeding demands by activist shareholder Carl Icahn and giving the business independence it can use to contend with rising competition from Apple Inc. and Google Inc. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPhotograph by David Paul Morris—Getty Images

As President Obama makes his historic visit to Cuba this week, online payments giant PayPal says it’s starting to bring its business to Cuba.

The effort is part of a deluge of interest by U.S. companies in Cuba including airlines, hotels and other tourist interests following the loosening of trade restrictions. PayPal CEO Dan Schulman, who is visiting Cuba this week along with President Obama, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, and many other CEOs, said that PayPal (PYPL) would start allowing money transfers to and from Cuba later this year.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Xoom (XOOM), founded in 2001, lets people send money, pay bills, and reload mobile phones from the United States to 37 countries. It is used widely by immigrants who send some of their earnings to family members back home. PayPal acquired Xoom in 2015 for $890 million.

Schulman said the opportunity for expansion is huge in Cuba, where $2 billion in cash is sent from the U.S. to Cuba annually. These U.S. remittances serve as 3% of Cuban GDP, he added. Because Xoom allows these remittances to take place digitally and via people’s phones, transferring money will be much easier, Schulman explained further.

For more on PayPal, watch this video:

Western Union (WU), a competitor to Xoom and the world’s largest money transfer company, also said it would start operating in Cuba this year.

PayPal isn’t the first payments technology company to start expanding business into Cuba. Payments upstart Stripeannounced last week that it is starting to help Cuban entrepreneurs set up U.S. businesses.

About the Author
By Leena Rao
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

NewslettersCIO Intelligence
Inside tractor maker CNH’s push to bring more artificial intelligence to the farm
By John KellDecember 10, 2025
3 hours ago
NewslettersTerm Sheet
5 VCs sounds off on the AI question du jour
By Amanda GerutDecember 10, 2025
4 hours ago
Databricks co-founder and CEO Ali Ghodsi (right) with Fortune editorial director Andrew Nusca at Fortune Brainstorm AI 2025 in San Francisco. (Photo: Stuart Isett/Fortune)
NewslettersFortune Tech
How Databricks could achieve a trillion-dollar valuation
By Andrew NuscaDecember 10, 2025
4 hours ago
Zhenghua Yang
SuccessSmall Business
At 18, doctors gave him three hours to live. He played video games from his hospital bed—and now, he’s built a $10 million-a-year video game studio
By Preston ForeDecember 10, 2025
5 hours ago
AsiaCoupang
Coupang CEO resigns over historic South Korean data breach
By Yoolim Lee and BloombergDecember 10, 2025
7 hours ago
AIpalantir
New contract shows Palantir is working on a tech platform for another federal agency that works with ICE
By Jessica MathewsDecember 9, 2025
14 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
‘Fodder for a recession’: Top economist Mark Zandi warns about so many Americans ‘already living on the financial edge’ in a K-shaped economy 
By Eva RoytburgDecember 9, 2025
18 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
When David Ellison was 13, his billionaire father Larry bought him a plane. He competed in air shows before leaving it to become a Hollywood executive
By Dave SmithDecember 9, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Banking
Jamie Dimon taps Jeff Bezos, Michael Dell, and Ford CEO Jim Farley to advise JPMorgan's $1.5 trillion national security initiative
By Nino PaoliDecember 9, 2025
19 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Uncategorized
Transforming customer support through intelligent AI operations
By Lauren ChomiukNovember 26, 2025
14 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
The 'forever layoffs' era hits a recession trigger as corporates sack 1.1 million workers through November
By Nick Lichtenberg and Eva RoytburgDecember 9, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Even the man behind ChatGPT, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is worried about the ‘rate of change that’s happening in the world right now’ thanks to AI
By Preston ForeDecember 9, 2025
23 hours ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.