Lemfi Partners ClearBank to Enhance International Payment Services For Underbanked African Immigrants in The UK
African fintech startup Lemfi has partnered with ClearBank, a leading supplier of embedded banking services in the UK, to enhance international payment services for the underbanked population of African immigrants in the UK.
After discovering that a significant population of immigrants in the UK are underbanked, Lemfi sought to cater to this challenge, hence its partnership with ClearBank.
Through this partnership, ClearBank will provide LemFi with agency banking services, powering its e-wallet offering in the UK to provide African immigrants with an alternative to traditional banking.
ClearBank has reportedly provided 37,000 virtual accounts to LemFi’s customers, and the partnership has continued to wax stronger, which saw monthly payment volumes go up to 550,000 transactions, as of September 2023.
Speaking on the partnership, CEO of LemFi, Ridwan Olalere said,
“At LemFi, our mission has always been to make financial services accessible to everyone. By partnering with ClearBank, and leveraging its technology and banking license, we are building a proposition that improves the quality and accessibility of financial services for emerging market immigrants. We are delighted with our relationship so far and as we continue to grow, we’re looking forward to expanding the relationship even further.”
Also commenting, the Chief Customer Officer at ClearBank, John Salter said,
“We’re excited about enabling LemFi to deliver on its mission through flexible, secure, and compliant banking infrastructure. ClearBank is dedicated to partnering with organizations that make banking services more accessible, particularly to previously underserved populations. We’re thrilled to continue and expand our work with LemFi, not just as a business venture but as an opportunity to serve markets considered hard to reach.”
Lemfi chose ClearBank as its agency banking partner, due to the bank’s reputation for providing seamless, fast, and reliable banking services, coupled with its advanced banking infrastructure which supports local virtual accounts and access to secure UK payment rails.
Notably, ClearBank has continued to be a leading supplier of embedded banking services in the UK and the only next-generation payments provider with direct access to all banking payment schemes in the UK (e.g. Faster Payments, BACS, CHAPS), serving over 13 million real and virtual bank accounts to businesses and their consumers.
