Lemfi acquires Pillar to offer credit cards for immigrants in the UK

With this acquisition, LemFi plans to launch specialised credit cards for immigrants to address a persistent barrier in the UK’s financial inclusion movement. Pillar raised GBP 13 million in its pre-seed funding round to develop a platform for immigrants and enable them to access credit products when they move to a new country. LemFi will gain this technology as part of the agreement, becoming a remittance platform with credit as a core offering.

Supporting the UK’s migrant community

Moving into a new country equates to being credit invisible. This means that, regardless of their previous prospective financial profile, migrants’ credit score resets once they enter a new country. In the UK, approximately 5 million such individuals struggle to access financial services, facing challenges such as limited recognition of credit history, documentation issues, language barriers, and a lack of understanding of the UK’s banking system.

The international payment services provider acquires Pillar to tackle these issues. According to Credit-Connect research, just 1 in 10 immigrants believes access to credit has not become harder in the current economy, and banking reports estimate that 13% of newcomers are excluded, versus 3% for the general UK population. In the UK alone, net migration exceeded 700,000 people in 2022.

LemFi stated its goal is to build a full-stack financial service for migrants everywhere, and credit is the next step in this journey. Through the Lemfi Credit, the company offers its customers the ability to grow their credit through a user-friendly app. Lemfi credit has grown weekly by 18% since its launch, offering customers the possibility to get up to GBP 300, GBP 700, or GBP 1000 based on their credit profile. Users also get a virtual card to spend online, with the possibility to add it to their Apple Pay or Google Pay wallets.

The Lemfi credit cards will leverage Pillar’s technology to recognise international credit histories, offer alternative credit assessment, provide graduated credit building, and integrate with remittance services. The deal is approved by the FCA and sees Pillar’s founders join LemFi’s team.