Person-to-person payments outfit PayPal says that it now has over 15 million account holders in the UK, representing over a third of the adult population.
Paypal says UK growth is being fuelled by sharp increases in online spending and by demand for low-cost remittance services to international locations.
The company currently offers transfers to 103 international market destinations and recently added ten new currencies worldwide. Payments, charged at 3.8% of the transaction value, can be made to anyone with an email address.
Geoff Iddison, chief executive of PayPal says: "Advances in technology and the demands of our time-poor society are transforming the way we shop and transfer money. International expansion is a key part of PayPal’s growth strategy. That over a third of adults in the UK now have a PayPal account demonstrates the public’s confidence in using PayPal as a convenient and secure way to send money and buy goods."
Separately, Federal agents are working with San Jose police to investigate the cause of an explosion at PayPal's headquarters late Tuesday. The blast shattered a large window in the four-storey building and prompted an evacuation of two dozen employees. Nobody was injured and and the online payment operation continued uninterrupted.