California- Based LemFi Acquires UK Fintech Pillar To Expand Credit Access For Immigrants Globally

This acquisition follows LemFi’s $53 million (€46 million) funding round led by Highland Europe earlier this year.

Founded by Ashutosh Bhatt and Adam Lewis, Pillar helps newcomers access credit products that were previously hard to obtain. Its core technology uses a unique data and analytics system powered by Open Banking, enabling the platform to scale and operate globally.

Ashutosh Bhatt, Pillar co-founder, says, “Despite earning a good salary at Barclays, I couldn’t access even the everyday products I’d had in India. I couldn’t get an iPhone, let alone a credit card. There have been slight improvements, but we still can’t offer equitable access to bank accounts or credit cards to someone from another country. I’m excited for the impact we will have together with LemFi to increase reach by 10X and build truly global access to credit.”

LemFi’s acquisition of Pillar follows its recent launch of LemFi Credit, making it the first major remittance platform to integrate credit into its core services. In just six weeks of private beta, LemFi Credit attracted over 8,000 users, growing by 18% each week, according to the company.

The service offers customers a virtual card that works immediately with Apple Pay or Google Pay, with physical Visa cards set to launch later this year.

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These credit cards will be powered by Pillar’s technology, enabling immigrants to import their international credit histories and access credit in their new countries. The system also uses non-traditional data to assess creditworthiness and offers gradually increasing credit limits.

Additionally the cards will integrate with LemFi’s cross-border remittance services, allowing users to build credit while managing international payments.

Ridwan Olalere, LemFi co-founder and CEO, says, “Through LemFi Credit, we already provide our existing customers with the ability to grow their credit right within the LemFi app. With this acquisition, we plan to offer Credit Cards to customers, starting with the UK, and roll out the full suite of LemFi Credit features publicly. Credit forms a critical part of our vision of building a full-stack financial service for immigrants everywhere, and Rian and I are particularly pleased that Adam and Ash have agreed to join us in building it. ”

The acquisition of Pillar allows LemFi to offer specialised credit services and cards designed specifically for immigrants. Through this deal, LemFi gains access to Pillar’s technology, its FCA credit licence, and a strong track record of growth.

Pillar’s co-founders, Ashutosh Bhatt and Adam Lewis—both former Revolut executives—will also join the LemFi team as part of the acquisition.

The platform serves over two million customers across the US, UK, Canada, and Europe, handling $1 billion in monthly transactions. It is now expanding into Asia and Latin America and has been growing steadily at 30% month-over-month.

LemFi has a team of 300+ people across Africa, Europe, and North America, and has raised $85 million from investors like Highland Europe, Left Lane Capital, Palm Drive Capital, and Y Combinator.

About LemFi

LemFi, founded in 2021, is a financial services platform built for immigrants worldwide. It began with payments and remittances and now provides multi-currency accounts to send and receive money globally at low cost.