African Remittance Startup LemFi Acquires UK Card Issuer Pillar

Nigeria-born startup LemFi has acquired British credit card issuer Pillar to tap into the remittance boom and meet the financial needs of immigrants in the UK, Canada, and Europe.

The acquisition, completed in May, will enable the UK-headquartered LemFi to roll out a credit card product for immigrants within its app.

LemFi’s Pillar Acquisition: A Strategic Move

LemFi’s acquisition of Pillar indicates a strategic step towards a unified platform for remittances, cross-border credit, and regulatory legitimacy. This acquisition paves the way for the Nigerian fintech to launch specialised credit cards designed especially for immigrant communities. It would also address one of their most persistent barriers to financial inclusion in the UK. 

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Research shows that only 1 in 10 immigrants believes access to credit has not become harder in the current economic climate. At the same time, banking exclusion reports estimate 13% for migrants versus just 3% for the general UK population.

According to Ridwan Olalere, the platform’s co-founder and CEO, the deal was closed in May 2025. With this move, LemFi will leverage Pillar’s UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) license. The startup can bypass the lengthy regulatory approval process and directly offer credit cards and services through its remittance app. 

“We’re building our own credit decision engine that takes into account your history in your previous country,” Olalere told Semafor of his move to open up credit access to migrants who have not been in the UK long enough to have a credit score. The system is based on Pillar’s technology, which has gathered data for credit decision-making from 18 low- and middle-income countries.

Since launching four years ago, Pillar has raised $16.9 million and has issued about 20,000 cards to migrants from India and Nigeria. Its founders, Ashutosh Bhatt and Adam Lewis, formerly of Revolut and Barclays, will join the LemFi team.

Bridging The Inequitable Access to Credit Gap

Approximately 5 million “credit invisible” individuals in the UK struggle to access mainstream financial services. Immigrants from emerging markets face challenges in the UK due to a lack of credit history, limited recognition of foreign credit histories, documentation issues related to immigration status, language barriers, and limited knowledge of the UK banking system. These issues lead to inequitable access to financial services.

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Ashutosh’s lived experience of moving to the UK mirrors this. “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!” 

While there have been slight improvements, the problem’s core persists. “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!  

He concludes, “With Pillar, LemFi will increase its reach by 10X and build truly global access to credit.” LemFi serves around 2 million users and claims to have processed over $1 billion in monthly transactions as of January 2025. 

How LemFi’s Credit Cards Could Unlock Billions 

The market opportunity for immigrant-focused financial services in the UK is substantial, as Net migration continues to grow post-COVID-19 pandemic. Industry analysts estimate that addressing the financial inclusion gap for immigrants could unlock billions in economic value for the individuals gaining access to fair credit and the broader UK economy.

LemFi’s credit cards for immigrants will leverage Pillar’s technology to recognize international credit histories, provide alternative credit assessments, offer graduated credit building, and integrate with remittance services.

This development could represent a significant step toward equitable access to quality financial services and opportunities for the millions of immigrants in the UK struggling to build credit histories.

Since its founding, LemFi has supported over 2 million customers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Europe. The remittance startup users rely on its multi-currency accounts to transfer money to friends and family in countries like Nigeria, Kenya, India, China, Pakistan, and 15 others.

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Earlier in January 2025, LemFi secured $53 million in Series B funding, bringing its total funding to over US$86M, involving some leading investors, including Highland Europe, LeftLane Capital, Endeavor Capital, and Y-Combinator.

Main Image: Ridwan Olalere and Rian Cochran, LemFi Co-founders. Image Credit: LemFi