In a bid to enhance financial access for immigrants, London-based fintech LemFi has acquired Pillar, a UK startup that specialises in immigrant-focused credit solutions.
The acquisition, following LemFi’s $53 million Series B round closed earlier in January, has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This will enable the company to move from a remittance-first model to a full-stack financial services provider targeting the financial situations of migrant communities.
For many immigrants arriving in the UK, gaining access to credit is an uphill battle. Their credit histories don’t travel with them. They may come from strong financial backgrounds, but in the eyes of British financial institutions, they start from zero.
Roughly five million people in the UK are classified as “credit invisible”, making them four times more likely to be denied essential services such as loans, credit cards, and mobile contracts.
LemFi is moving to change that. With this acquisition, the company will become the first major remittance platform to fully integrate credit into its core offering.
LemFi’s CEO, Ridwan Olalere, “We have long stated our vision of building a full-stack financial service for immigrants everywhere. Credit marks the next frontier for us in this journey. Rian and I are particularly pleased that Adam and Ash have agreed to join us in building it.”
Pillar brings with it proprietary technology, a solid credit-scoring engine that pulls data from 18 emerging markets, and a team led by Revolut alumni Ashutosh Bhatt and Adam Lewis.
That technology allows users to “import” their credit history from their home countries, breaking one of the toughest barriers immigrants face in financial systems across Europe and North America.
Ashutosh Bhatt’s experience shows the daily challenges of many skilled professionals who migrate to the UK. “I couldn’t access any of the everyday [financial] products I had in India. Despite arriving and earning a good salary at Barclays, I couldn’t even get an iPhone!”
And he’s not alone. A recent estimate shows that 13% of immigrants in the UK are financially excluded, compared to just 3% of the general population. LemFi wants to cut that gap quickly.
Six weeks into its credit product’s private beta, LemFi had already onboarded over 8,000 users, growing 18% week-on-week. Through LemFi Credit, customers can access up to £1,000 via a virtual card, which is already integrated with Apple Pay and Google Pay. Physical Visa cards are expected to follow later this year.
This is a challenge to the existing financial system. Bhatt, now part of the LemFi leadership, said, “Immigrants are always dealt a bad hand, especially if they’re coming from emerging markets – we need equitable access to credit for everyone. When the world is busy building an interplanetary life, we still can’t offer a bank account or credit card to someone from another country!”
Founded in 2021 by ex-OPay executives Ridwan Olalere and Rian Cochran, LemFi originally set out to simplify cross-border remittances. Since then, the startup has processed over $1 billion in monthly transactions and served more than two million users across the UK, US, Canada, and Europe.
With the acquisition of Pillar, LemFi secures Pillar’s FCA credit licence and aims to roll out advanced credit solutions, including personalised credit limits, alternative credit scoring using non-traditional data, and seamless integration with its core remittance services.
Net migration to the UK hit over 700,000 in 2022 and continues to increase. At the same time, the World Bank reports that remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries reached $685 billion in 2024, ascertaining the massive economic contribution of migrants globally.
With LemFi strengthening its footprint by leveraging the tech and talent of Pillar, the company is taking a chance to ensure that immigrants will become the cornerstone of the next wave of financial innovation.
“LemFi is already the go-to remittance service for customers sending money to over 30 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America,” said Olalere. “We invite our customers and partners to grow with us as we build on our existing financial service offerings to scale LemFi into a fintech giant.”
