London-based international payments startup LemFi has acquired UK fintech Pillar in a strategic move to offer specialised credit cards tailored for immigrant communities, addressing a major barrier to financial inclusion in the UK.
Pillar, founded by former Revolut employees Ashutosh Bhatt and Adam Lewis, developed technology that enables immigrants to access credit products by recognising international credit histories and using alternative data for credit assessments. Since its inception, Pillar has issued about 20,000 cards, mainly to migrants from India and Nigeria.
The acquisition, completed in May and approved by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, integrates Pillar’s licensed card issuance technology and team into LemFi. This will allow LemFi to become the first major remittance platform to offer credit as a core product, complementing its existing money transfer services used by over two million customers across the US, UK, Canada, and Europe.
LemFi’s co-founder and CEO, Ridwan Olalere, said the move is part of the company’s vision to build a full-stack financial service for immigrants worldwide. “Through LemFi Credit, we already help customers grow their credit within the app. With this acquisition, we plan to offer credit cards starting in the UK, leveraging Pillar’s technology to import credit histories, provide alternative credit assessments, and integrate credit building with remittance services,” he explained.
The new LemFi Credit service, currently in private beta, has already attracted over 8,000 users with an 18% weekly growth rate. Customers can access virtual cards compatible with Apple Pay and Google Pay, with physical cards expected later this year.
Ashutosh Bhatt shared his personal experience of financial exclusion despite a good salary in the UK, highlighting the persistent challenges immigrants face. “We still can’t offer equitable access to bank accounts or credit cards to someone from another country. Together with LemFi, we aim to increase our reach tenfold and build truly global access to credit,” he said.
LemFi has raised over $86 million in funding to date, including a $53 million Series B round earlier this year.
This deal marks a major step forward in reshaping how immigrants manage money globally, combining remittance and credit services in a single platform designed to meet their unique needs.
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