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For many emerging market economy , remittances have become a lifeline . inflow surpassed $ 669 billion in 2023 , according toWorld Bank enquiry , and they now represent significant portions of gross domestic product in these countries , often outpace foreign direct investment as the primary source of alien exchange .
Traditional banking company and agents maintain a firm grip on the remittance market , with over 60 % grocery store part despite fierce rivalry from unexampled tech challengers . Some of these competitor , likeRemitly , have gone public , while others , such as Zepz andTaptap Send , remain privately possess — all vying for the remain share .
LemFi , the London - ground financial services platform plan for immigrant , is one such new player . It ’s now armed with $ 53 million in young funding , which it will use to fuel efforts to acquire more customer and further expand into more countries .
Since its launch in 2020 , LemFi has undergone speedy growth by serve diaspora communities in North America and , more latterly , Europe , send money to go forth market across Africa , Asia , and Latin America . The 4 - year - old fintech boasts over 1 million active users who rely on its multi - currency accounts to reassign money to friends and home in countries like Nigeria , Kenya , India , China , Pakistan , and 15 others .
Last week , the company expanded into Europe by partner with embedded finance provider Modulr . This partnership will help LemFi kickstart operations until it secures its license next calendar month after take on a Republic of Ireland - establish house . With this move , LemFi — whose revenue comes from dealing fees and foreign exchange spreads — now manoeuver in 27 commit - from markets and 20 send - to countries .
One style the company has gain traction is through aggressive fraud detection . One recentreportsays that citizenry sending money overseas are intimately four times more likely to fall victim to financial fraud than those who do n’t .
“ impostor can significantly repel up cost . Higher costs often mean passing them on to customers through additional fee . We ’ve managed to keep our humbug rate extremely low , allowing us to offer client the best possible damage , ” LemFi co - founder and CEORidwanOlalere , who founded LemFi with CFORian Cochranafter the duo touch atAfrican fintech unicorn OPay , told TechCrunch in an interview .
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“ So , we ’ve built a brand and repute in certain communities because of that , as well as our user experience , which makes our client refer it to their champion . That has helped us differentiate and grow even faster than you would anticipate in such a competitive market . ” About 70 % of LemFi ’s earliest customers still use the platform , while 60 % of its customer foundation is alive annually .
When we reported on LemFi’sexpansion into Asia and its broader strategylast April , Olalere revealed that the fintech recorded over $ 2 billion in yearly transaction book in 2023 . tight - forward to now , and the remittance political program is process half that — $ 1 billion — in monthly requital volume , Olalere told TechCrunch in a late audience . He credits this surge to strong acceptation in the Asiatic corridor , which rakes in $ 160 million in monthly TPV and is growing 30 % month - on - month within its first year of launching .
Olalere also shared that the company doubled users , tax revenue , and transactions over the past two years , and that played a theatrical role in attract investor interest and confidence . This increase momentum led to a Series B round led by Highland Europe , a London - free-base ontogeny - stage investment house that backs startups with more than € 10 million in annualized tax revenue .
The round , which , according to Olalere , closed in just four months , also see involution from survive investors Left Lane Capital , Palm Drive Capital , and Y Combinator and new investors like Endeavor Catalyst , bestow LemFi ’s total funding to $ 85 million .
LemFi will use the financial backing to gallop its offerings , surmount its requital web licence and partnerships to provide hyper - place service , and recruit talent for its next growth phase . The business firm currently has more than 300 employees across Europe , North America , Africa , and Asia .
“ While regulation food market by market remain complex and we have more stakeholder to deal with , grading has become a heap easier for us because we have engineering that is adaptable and can easily punch and diddle to unlike requital methods and scheme , ” Olalere noted . “ So , we intend to go to as many markets as we have significant numeral of immigrants , start now with Europe this year , which is going to be a big focus for us . ”
