We are excited to share that we have secured 14 new Money Transmitter Licenses (MTLs) across the US, marking a major step in our mission to deliver safe, reliable, and fully compliant financial services to immigrant communities.
What Does This Mean?
The new licenses, which cover states including Illinois, Michigan, Arizona, Oregon, and Delaware, enable us to move money for customers directly under state regulatory oversight. This gives us more control over how transfers are processed, providing a smoother and more transparent experience. It strengthens LemFi’s commitment to operating with clarity, accountability, and customer protection at the core of our US operations.
At a time when trust matters more than ever in fintech, these licenses place LemFi alongside the most established players in the industry.
Janine Ross, Group Head of Compliance at LemFi, explains:
“Obtaining our own licenses is about trust just as much as it is compliance. Our customers depend on us for security and transparency when moving their money, and these licenses demonstrate that we’re building a financial ecosystem with regulation and customer protection at its core. This milestone allows us to serve our U.S. customers with greater autonomy and confidence. It strengthens our infrastructure, speeds up processing, and ensures our users can send and manage funds under the highest regulatory standards.”
Built For The Underserved
The US is one of the most important financial markets in the world and represents a powerful opportunity for LemFi. Home to 52 million diasporans, they represent more than 15% of the national population, making the US the world’s largest remittance-sending country. An estimated $93 billion in remittances was sent from the US to their families and friends in other countries in 2023 alone.
With our new MTL licenses, LemFi can reach millions more who want trusted, regulated ways to support their families and manage finances at home, adding to our existing two million global customers.
This opportunity is only growing: global remittance flows rose 4.6% between 2023 and 2024 alone, with analysts forecasting that the broader market could surpass $1.5 trillion by 2033. This underscores the scale and long-term growth potential of immigrant financial flows and reinforces the need for transparent, reliable, immigrant-first financial services.
A Global Vision for Financial Inclusion
Our US MTLs join a growing portfolio of international licenses, including:
- An Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license in the UK (regulated by the FCA) and FCA credit license in the UK
- A Payment Institution (PI) license in Ireland, regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland
- A Money Service Business (MSB) license in Canada, regulated by the Financial Transactions and Report Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).
We have also established partnerships with GCash (Philippines), UBL (Pakistan), eSewa (Nepal), and ClearBank (UK), emphasizing our collaborative approach to delivering trusted financial tools worldwide.
The Bigger Picture
This milestone is part of LemFi’s roadmap to provide a full suite of financial products tailored to the underserved. This includes:
- LemFi Credit is designed to help immigrants access and build credit while also benefiting from flexible payments. This is achieved by recognizing international credit histories and using alternative credit assessment methods.
- Send Now Pay Later (SNPL), powered by our alternative credit scoring technology, is designed to enable customers to send money to their loved ones when needed and access credit safely and securely.
