- LemFi, a Nigerian fintech startup, has signed a new deal with Visa’s Cross-Border Solutions division to expand into new global markets such as China, India, and Pakistan, with Visa Cross-Border Solutions facilitating its cross-border transactions.
- This move comes after it hired ex-Opay COO Allen Qu to lead China expansion.
- With over 250,000 users in the UK and EMEA having access to Visa debit and pre-paid debit cards through this deal, the cross-border payment platform remains LemFi’s preferred provider of e-payments and foreign exchange.
It will also continue to support the remittance of funds for hundreds of thousands of UK-based citizens from various African countries.
In 2020, Ridwan Olalere co-founded LemFi, formerly Lemonade Finance, to provide immigrants with a multi-currency account, allowing them to manage, transfer, and receive money in their home country's and host country's currencies. It enables users to send money to over 30 countries.
According to Olalere,“ The combination of our expertise and our technology platform puts us in a very strong position to expand internationally in the coming months and years. Visa’s speed-to-market, transparency, and scalability will be instrumental as we extend our services worldwide.”
He underscored that “Visa's speed-to-market, transparency, and scalability” are pivotal in driving the global expansion of LemFi's services.
In August 2023, the Nigerian fintech platform launched in the United States, building on obtaining an International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) from the Central Bank of Nigeria through its subsidiary, RightCard Payment Services Limited.
In the same month, it secured $33 million to ease remittance for immigrants.
Also, in December 2023, it partnered with ClearBank, a United Kingdom based clearing and agency banking platform to help provide agency banking services to enhance international payment services for emerging market immigrants in North America and Europe.
LemFi returned operations to Ghana in February 2024, two months after suspending its operations after the Bank of Ghana declared it illegal.
