Remittances Get a 'Buy Now, Pay Later' Makeover for Immigrants

LemFi, a London-based international payments platform, has launched "Send Now, Pay Later" (SNPL), a credit-powered remittance service designed to address financial challenges faced by immigrants with limited credit histories. The product enables users to send money to their families in over 30 destination countries immediately, with repayment deferred to a later date. This innovation targets a critical issue for immigrants in the UK, who collectively send nearly £10 billion annually but often struggle with timing mismatches between income cycles and urgent family expenses.

Immigrants in the UK face systemic barriers to financial inclusion, with approximately 5 million individuals classified as "credit invisible," and 13% of migrants excluded from banking services compared to 3% of the general population. Traditional remittance providers require immediate payment, forcing users to delay transfers or seek costly, unregulated credit solutions. SNPL leverages LemFi's Ensemble AI model to assess creditworthiness by integrating national credit bureau data, open banking insights, and users' remittance histories, offering tailored credit lines of £300 to £1,000. This approach allows recent immigrants, who often lack UK credit records, to build credit profiles incrementally while accessing essential financial services.

The service operates through a structured process: eligible customers are onboarded to LemFi Credit, where AI-driven algorithms evaluate financial data to determine risk-adjusted credit limits. Once approved, users can send funds to 30+ countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America, with recipients receiving transfers in real-time or same-day processing-33% faster than traditional banks. Repayment plans are designed to align with users' cash flow, mirroring the flexibility of "Buy Now, Pay Later" models but applied to remittances.

LemFi's solution addresses a broader credit divide. Research indicates that 90% of immigrants report increased difficulty accessing credit in recent years, with systemic biases in traditional credit scoring exacerbating exclusion. By incorporating international credit histories and alternative data points, LemFi's AI reduces bias and expands access to credit for immigrants who might otherwise remain financially invisible. The platform's real-time transfer capabilities further mitigate timing frictions, ensuring timely support for families abroad.

Following its UK launch, LemFi plans to expand SNPL to the United States, Canada, and Europe. The company, which serves over 2 million customers globally, recently secured $53 million in Series B funding in January 2025, bringing total capital to $86 million. Investors include Highland Europe, LeftLane Capital, and Y-Combinator. This expansion aligns with growing demand for flexible remittance solutions, as LemFi aims to solidify its position as a leading financial services platform for immigrant communities.

Ridwan Olalere, LemFi's co-founder and CEO, emphasized the transformative potential of SNPL. "Integrating credit into remittances ensures financial support is never delayed by cash flow timing," he stated, highlighting the company's commitment to building an AI-enabled ecosystem tailored to global citizens. With its focus on credit invisibility and cross-border financial inclusion, LemFi's innovation marks a significant step toward addressing systemic gaps in traditional banking systems.

Source: [1] Tech Cabal (https://techcabal.com/2025/10/09/lemfi-launches-ai-powered-send-now-pay-later-service-combining-credit-and-remittances-for-uk-immigrants/)

[2] YourStory (https://yourstory.com/2025/10/lemfi-launches-ai-powered-send-now-pay-later-service-uk-immigrants)

[3] Rappler (https://www.rappler.com/brandrap/lemfi-ai-send-now-pay-later-credit-remittances-uk-immigrants/)

[4] Zawya (https://www.zawya.com/en/press-release/africa-press-releases/lemfi-launches-artificial-intelligence-ai-powered-send-now-pay-later-service-combining-credit-and-remittances-qf2wqow4)

[5] Startup Researcher (https://www.startupresearcher.com/news/lemfi-launches-send-now-pay-later)

[6] LemFi Blog (https://blog.lemfi.com/product-update/send-now-pay-later-lemfi-launch)