LemFi, an AI-driven international payments platform serving immigrant communities, has unveiled “Send Now, Pay Later” (SNPL), a new credit-powered remittance product for UK users. The service allows customers to transfer money to their families using a LemFi credit line, addressing a long-standing challenge faced by immigrants who often struggle to align cash flow with family obligations abroad. With this launch, LemFi aims to blend credit and remittance into a single, seamless financial experience for millions of global citizens.
Solving a Critical Cash Flow Gap
For the UK’s immigrant population sending roughly £10 billion annually to their home countries, financial timing remains a major obstacle. Many immigrants face irregular income cycles or unanticipated expenses that force delays in supporting families or reliance on costly, informal lenders. Traditional remittance services demand full payment upfront, leaving those without access to credit particularly vulnerable. SNPL directly tackles this issue by enabling transfers even when senders’ funds are temporarily low, helping them meet critical obligations without financial strain.
How Send Now, Pay Later Works
The SNPL service operates through LemFi Credit, which offers eligible customers credit lines ranging from £300 to £1,000. Eligibility is determined using LemFi’s AI-powered risk engine that reviews open banking data, credit bureau files, and the user’s remittance patterns. This makes it accessible to new immigrants who often lack an extensive UK credit record. Once approved, customers can send money to over 30 supported countries and repay in flexible installments, making international transfers faster and more inclusive.
AI-Powered Credit Assessment
Behind SNPL is LemFi’s proprietary Ensemble AI model, a system that blends multiple datasets to make dynamic and fair credit decisions. It uses a mix of traditional credit data, open banking insights, and LemFi’s internal transaction history to determine affordability and repayment capability. The model adapts to each customer’s circumstances, setting risk-adjusted limits that evolve as their credit behavior matures. This intelligent approach not only expands access but also promotes responsible credit growth for newcomers establishing financial roots in a new country.
Bridging the Credit Divide
Access to credit remains one of the most pressing barriers for immigrants worldwide. Around five million people in the UK are considered “credit invisible,” and immigrants from emerging economies are disproportionately affected. Studies show that 13 percent of migrants are excluded from mainstream banking, compared to only 3 percent of the general population. LemFi’s solution directly addresses this gap by allowing customers to build credit history through real economic activity—sending money to their families—rather than relying solely on traditional credit products.
Leadership Insight
LemFi’s co-founder and CEO, Ridwan Olalere, emphasized the transformative nature of the launch. He explained that while Buy Now, Pay Later revolutionized retail purchasing, remittance has remained excluded from similar innovation. “With Send Now, Pay Later, we’re integrating credit directly into the remittance experience, ensuring financial support is never delayed by cash flow timing,” he said. Olalere also highlighted that SNPL represents LemFi’s commitment to building a full-stack, AI-driven financial ecosystem tailored to the realities of global citizens.
Expansion and Market Outlook
Following its UK debut, LemFi intends to roll out SNPL across its other major markets, including the United States, Canada, and Europe. The company currently serves more than two million customers globally, offering cross-border payments to over 30 destination countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. With rising demand for flexible remittance options, LemFi’s expansion positions it to capture a growing segment of the global diaspora remittance market.
LemFi’s Send Now, Pay Later marks a pivotal shift in how immigrants manage their cross-border finances. By merging credit with remittance and leveraging advanced AI to deliver fair access to funds, LemFi is not only simplifying money transfers but also empowering financially excluded communities. As the service scales internationally, it could redefine digital remittances for a new generation of global citizens seeking reliability, inclusivity, and financial freedom.