LemFi, an AI-powered international payments platform serving immigrant communities, has launched Send Now, Pay Later (SNPL), a first-of-its-kind credit-powered remittance service enabling UK customers to send money home immediately and pay back over time.
The service addresses a critical pain point for the UK's immigrant population, who send nearly £10 billion home annually but often face timing mismatches between unexpected family expenses abroad and local payday cycles. Traditional remittance providers require immediate payment, forcing users to either delay urgent transfers or turn to unregulated, expensive credit options.
Solving the "credit invisible" challenge
Approximately five million individuals in the UK are considered "credit invisible," with immigrants from emerging economies disproportionately affected. Research shows that nine in ten immigrants report increased difficulty accessing credit, while 13% are excluded from banking services compared to just 3% of the general population.
London-based LemFi's SNPL service tackles this exclusion head-on. The platform offers credit lines ranging from £300 to £1,000, powered by an Ensemble AI model that combines data from national credit bureaus, open banking, international credit histories, and LemFi's own remittance patterns. This multi-source approach enables accurate loan eligibility assessment even for recent immigrants with limited UK credit history.
"The rise of Buy Now, Pay Later transformed retail payments globally, but this innovation has never existed for remittances, despite being a core part of immigrant financial life," said Ridwan Olalere, Co-founder and CEO of LemFi. "With Send Now, Pay Later, we're ensuring families receive critical financial support when they need it most, not when cash flow allows. This represents our commitment to building a full-stack, AI-enabled financial ecosystem that truly serves global citizens."
How it works
Customers are onboarded through LemFi Credit using open banking technology for eligibility assessment. Once approved, they can instantly send money to any of LemFi's 30+ supported destination countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America, with recipients receiving funds via real-time or same-day transfers, reducing transaction time by up to one-third compared to traditional banks.
LemFi's AI decisioning engine analyzes open banking insights, credit bureau data, remittance history, and international credit footprints to predict affordability and repayment likelihood while reducing bias that typically excludes immigrants from mainstream financial services. The system automatically adjusts credit limits and terms based on individual customer journeys and available data points.
Growth and expansion
Founded in 2021, LemFi currently serves over 2 million customers across the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Europe. Following the UK launch, the company plans to expand SNPL to its other markets.
In January 2025, LemFi secured $53 million in Series B funding, bringing total funding to over $86 million. Investors include Highland Europe, LeftLane Capital, Endeavor Capital, and Y Combinator.
Original Article
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