LemFi

LemFi operates a financial app that lets users open multi-currency wallets and send, receive and manage money across borders. Transfers can be initiated from markets including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States and certain European countries, with payouts to destinations across Africa (including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, Cameroon, Senegal and others), Asia (including China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Vietnam), Europe and Brazil. The company markets transfers to more than 30 countries, delivered to bank accounts, mobile money and other payout methods, typically within minutes and at low or zero transfer fees. Beyond remittances, LemFi offers a request-money/payment-link feature and an eSIM product, and has launched USD and GBP global accounts in Nigeria. The platform explicitly does not support merchant refunds or cryptocurrency purchases.

The company frames its mission around the financial exclusion faced by recent migrants, citing net migration figures for the UK, US and Canada and the persistence of remittance costs above UN Sustainable Development Goal levels. It has extended into credit through the acquisition of UK credit fintech Pillar, which brought an FCA credit licence and the ability to assess creditworthiness for immigrants without local credit history, and into European regulatory coverage via the acquisition of Irish currency exchange business Bureau Buttercrane.

LemFi was founded in 2021 by Ridwan Olalere (CEO) and Rian Cochran (CFO), who previously worked together at OPay, and participated in Y Combinator's Summer 2021 batch. It is headquartered in London and staffs teams across Europe, North America, Africa and Asia, with roles spanning growth, cards, compliance, infrastructure and finance.

Founding story

Ridwan Olalere and Rian Cochran met while working at African fintech OPay and founded the company in 2021 (launched 2020 per TechCrunch) to address gaps in financial services for immigrants and globally mobile customers; it went through Y Combinator's Summer 2021 batch.

Business model

LemFi runs a direct-to-consumer mobile app for cross-border payments, supported by payment network licences and partnerships in send-from and send-to markets, plus acquisitions that add regulatory permissions (an Irish licence via Bureau Buttercrane, an FCA credit licence via Pillar) and 14 US money transmitter licences.

Revenue comes from transaction fees and foreign exchange spreads on transfers, with the company advertising low or zero transfer fees on some corridors.

Traction

The company reported over 1 million active users and more than $85 million in total funding as of January 2025, growing to more than two million customers across the US, UK and Canada by 2026 reporting. Monthly transaction volume reached about $1 billion in early 2025, up from over $2 billion in annual volume in 2023, with the Asian corridor contributing $160 million in monthly volume and growing 30% month-on-month. Roughly 70% of earliest customers reportedly still use the platform and 60% of the customer base is active yearly; users, revenue and transactions doubled over the two years to early 2025.

Latest developments

In December 2025 LemFi announced the acquisition of UK credit fintech Pillar, secured 14 US money transmitter licences, expanded to Egypt and launched USD and GBP global accounts in Nigeria. In May 2026, The Paypers reported, citing Tech Funding News, that the company was raising a EUR 30 million extension to its Series B. It has also expanded a partnership with Visa on cross-border payments and engaged ClearBank for agency banking services.