Yahoo! en español Launches Online Person-to-Person Payment Service.

Yahoo! en español announced the launch of Yahoo! en español PayDirect International, which allows Yahoo! and Yahoo! en espanol users to securely and inexpensively send money to family friends in 182 countries throughout the world. Recipients worldwide will not need a PayDirect account, Internet access or even a local bank account to obtain their funds.

The growing need for safe, low-cost and convenient services to transfer funds internationally continues to swell with a global labor population. Foreign nationals who send money home say “convenience” is the most important criteria for choosing a remittance method, and these global remittances total an estimated $140 billion to $200 billion per year.* With the holidays rapidly approaching and a growing need for cost-effective remittance services, consumers now have an easy way to send money home.

The PayDirect International service is safer and more convenient than traditional money transfer methods for both the sender and receiver. After the sender makes the initial remittance, the recipient receives a Yahoo! PayDirect World Card, which is delivered within five days. The PayDirect World Card is a stored-value card that can be used to withdraw local currency at any of the more than 800,000 Cirrus ATMs around the world, just like a traditional ATM card. The recipient doesn’t have to have a bank account to receive or use the card. The recipient can, at any time, withdraw the entire balance up to local ATM limits, or make periodic withdrawals until the remittance is exhausted. The sender can re-fill the same card, up to the specified limit, at the Yahoo! PayDirect Web site from their bank account.

In lieu of the PayDirect World Card, recipients can also collect funds within minutes at any of the 60,000+ MoneyGram® international money transfer locations worldwide. In addition to saving time and money, senders also receive a free five-minute international virtual calling card to contact their receiver by phone after the money is sent.

“Yahoo! en español’s mission is to deliver the most relevant and essential Internet products and services to consumers,” said Jorge Consuegra, general manager, Yahoo! en español. “Foreign born nationals living and working in the United States have an essential need to send money home. Yahoo! PayDirect International offers a highly convenient way to send money worldwide, and charges substantially less than traditional payment methods.”